I Fell In Love With A Murderer
by uchihacutie
Summary: Sakura Haruno is pregnant. And guess what. It's Itachi's baby! Doesn't get worse, right? Wrong. Not only does she have to deal with the pain of carrying an S class criminal's child, she also has to fend off Orochimaru; who has his eyes set on on the heir,
1. Chapter 1

Our favorite Haruno was enjoying her day. NOT. Keeled over on the bathroom floor, she heaved up another sandwich. This was the norm ever since that night. The night she did the unthinkable.

"I don't understand. Why is this happening to me? I'm too afraid to ask Tsunade-sama. I have a feeling it has to do with sleeping with an S class criminal Uchiha." She thought worriedly.

"Bull crap!!!!"

"Of all the freakin Harunos, I end up with an 'extra' friend. What do you want?"

"Don't give me the attitude chick. If you never screwed the man, you wouldn't be in this mess. Be smart and take a pregnancy test." Inner Sakura replied.

"No way in hell I'm doing that. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"I know you're stupid. Trust me. This will probably change a lot of things."

"No."

"Do it now, or I'll do it for you, and trust me, YOU DON'T WANT THAT!!!!"

"Fine, I will." grumbled Sakura as she slowly stood up.

Sakura slowly trudged to her closet in defeat. Picking out a tight fitting grey hoddie, she put it on.

"Are my breasts growing? Why so soon? *sigh*"

Sakura then went to her drawer, and took out tight black capris. Ironing them quickly, she put them on, and ran to the bathroom, heaving up more crap. Looking at herself in the mirror, she tried to ignore that sick pale look, and brushed her hair, tying it in a messy bun. Finally, she secured her headband, strapped on her ninja shoes, and headed out the door. Locking it, Sakura walked down the all to familiar path, to the drug store. Shivering at the cold breeze, she put her hands in her pockets, and hastened her pace. Suddenly, a few kids ran by her with wooden shuriken and kunai, playing ninja. One of the kids turned around, and ran up to her calling her name.

"Ms. Sakuwa!! Ms. Sakuwa!! Do you wememba me?"

Sakura turned around and gasped. It was a young girl whose mother had been attacked by thieves and left to die. It was a long fight, but she managed to save the mother in time. Sakura forced a smile despite the pain in her stomach.

"Of course I remember you cutie. How could I forget such a nice pretty girl like you? Is your mommy okay?" Inner Sakura snickered at how fake Sakura sounded.

"Uh-huh. She's okay. Thank wou for saving my mommy." the little girl said.

"No problem sweetie, go on and play. I've got somewhere to go now."

The little girl ran off back to her friends while Sakura's smile faded. Continuing down her route, she saw the local herb store.

"Might as well buy some tea. Maybe it will help my stomach relax." she quietly said to herself. Quickly walking in, she picked out some teas and paid. Walking back out, she ran to the drug store. Finally, Sakura saw the pregnancy test thingy. (See if I give a crap what it's called. ^_^) She picked it up and read the label. It said 'World's Greatest Pregnancy Test' with 99.9% accuracy. Sakura paid for it quickly and ran out, seeing rain clouds starting to form. As she sprinted home, thunder rolled in the distance, and then it started to poor. She ran and busted open her home door, rushing in from the storm. Walking quickly up the stairs, Sakura took out the test.

"It's time to see my fate."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 IS SO HERE!!!!!!!!

Sakura took a long looooooong look at the + sign. It was now the third time she repeated the test. Looking at herself in the mirror, she screamed some pretty bad words.

"This is so not f*****g happening!!! It's a joke!!! I know it is. That Uchiha b***h better not have gotten me pregnant!!! Maybe I did something wrong. I'm eighteen. I can't have a baby."

'_Don't be dumb. I think three times is enough. You're pregnant.'_said IS. (Inner Sakura)

"No, I'm not."

'_Oh yes, you are. Don't take the easy way out.'_  
"…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$#%&#%# ##$%#%# &^%(&%*%^*)!!!!!!!"

'_SHUT THE HELL UP, MORON!!!!!!'_

Sakura stopped her rant and listened to herself. (That sounds awkward).

'_Screaming isn't going to get you anywhere. Deal with it. Get moving chick. Remember, this is all your fault. Deal with your mistakes.'_

"But…but how can I? Deal with THIS!? No way! How the hell am I gonna tell my friends and family and Naruto-kun will be so disappointed and…God no…Tsunade will have me for dinner!"

Sakura put her head in her hands and sobbed, her tears splashing onto the floor below.

'_Sakura Haruno, listen to me. You are stronger than this. I know, of course you're in some deep s**t, but you can do this. Take this one step at a time, right now, you need to focus on finding a way you can meet with…him. Kapeesh?' _

Sakura wiped her tears, a whole new look of determination on her face. She clenched her fist and looked at her self in the mirror.

"Let's do this."

________________________________________________________________________

Walking quickly, Itachi stepped inside a dark corridor. He rounded a corner, when he was stopped.

"Where were you?" asked Kisame.

"I answer to no one."he replied.

He kept walking until he reached his room, and he slammed the door behind him. Sitting on his bed, he thought back to one of the most amazing night's of his life.

"Heh."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPPIE 3 IS HERE!!! YAY!!! ENJOY!!! ^_^

"Stupid girl."

"I…Itachi? Is that you?" replied Sakura

She stared at the blood red eyes that stood out in the dark. The piercing eyes put her at a standstill. The cloaked figure slowly approached her, the scratched out Konoha headband glistening in the moonlight. It pulled out a kunai knife. Sakura's eyes widened and she stepped back. Turning to run, she gasped as the figure was blocking her path. It raised the kunai.

"No."

She felt the knife plunge into her heart.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sakura shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. (ewww) She heard a frantic knocking. After a while, the door was forced open, and Naruto and Kakashi came tumbling in.

"Sakura-chan!!! What happened! Are you okay?!" yelled Naruto.

Sakura just stared at them for a while. Kakashi walked up to her bed and looked at her with concern.

"I'm fine guys, really." she said.

Naruto, being Naruto, didn't back down so easily.

"Are you sure? You just screamed out of nowhere."

Sakura was touched at his concern for her, but it was too early for him to know.

"I'm fine. Thanks guys. I'm gonna get dressed so could you please leave?" she asked.

The two walked out, but Kakashi stopped at her door. He looked back at her and she could tell by his look that he didn't believe her. He walked out the door, closing it behind him. Meanwhile, Sakura climbed out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Is this me?"

The bags under her eyes were dark, and she looked pale. Sighing, she took out her normal ninja outfit. She out on the red sleeveless (with a bra off course)gasping at how tight it fit the chest. She put on the shorts and then the skirt. Strapping on her ninja shoes, she ran in the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Brushing her hair, she thought about her dream.

"Weird."

Putting on her headband, Sakura walked and the trio headed to Tsunade's office.

"Um, guys, why were you at my apartment?"

"We were coming to pick you up to go to granny Tsunade's office. She called but you didn't answer, so we came." answered Naruto.

The rest of the walk was silent; accept for the sounds of footsteps, and the flipping pages of Kakashi's book. (Pervert) Finally, they reached the Hokage tower. Sasuke was already there.

**Flashback…**

Sasuke had returned from the clutches of Orochimaru. He brought information with him, to Tsunade's surprise, which helped a lot. But he still wore that emotionless mask.

"Sasuke!!!" yelled Sakura, running up to him and embracing him tightly. Naruto ran up too, yelling and screaming like normal. Sasuke just looked at her, disgusted.

"Get off." He said icily, pushing her away from him. Sakura just stood there, staring at him with tear filled eyes. Naruto's ranting grew silent and he stared at the two. Suddenly, her face turned emotionless and cold. Sasuke looked at her and took a step back, feeling an unusual rise in her chakra.

"You cold, disgusting, b*****d. I try to patch things up, and this is how you treat me? I shouldn't even be talking to you traitor." she spat. "You are worthless. After all I did for you, telling you I care; you still treat me like crap. Then you run off with some gay wannabe snake. You finally come back, and you act the same. Sasuke, I love you. But you can't accept that your family is gone. You ignored the love I tried to make you feel. They're not coming back Sasuke. I tried to make you feel like you had a family. Well, you just lost another family member, and don't think that I'm coming back. You are dead in my eyes." she said coldly.

Naruto and Sasuke stared at her retreating back, with shock. She didn't have one regret.

**End Flashback…**

"Sakura." Kakashi said, snapping her out of her daydream. They stood at Tsunande's desk, waiting for her to speak. Lady Tsunade had a serious look on her face.

"I have a serious mission for you guys. Itachi Uchiha was spotted in the forest outside of Konoha. My sources say he is still nearby. Your mission is to capture, if necessary, KILL HIM."

"Hai!" they said all together, and the four set off into the forest outside of Konoha. They split up and looked around. Suddenly, Sakura felt a chill. Turning behind her, she looked up into blood red eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura stood frozen, staring at Itachi, who was staring at her. He felt the chakra of her comrades, and realized why she was there. Feeling the rise in chakra, Sakura remembered the biggest rule about fighting Itachi. Never look into his eyes.

"Oh crap! Don't look into his eyes!"she thought.

But it was too late. He had her caught in his mangekyou (However the heck you spell it) sharingan. Itachi was deep in the mind of Sakura. She was chained in the T position, as kakashi was a couple years ago. Gasping, Sakura pulled at the chains trying to escape, but it was all in vain.

"There is no escape. You will suffer the ultimate agony for 72 hours."he said, with no emotion. Pulling out his katana, he aimed it at her, ready to end her life. He was about to kill her, when something unexpected happened.

"CHA!!!!! GET OUTTA HERE!!!!!"yelled Inner Sakura.

Itachi stared at her and then back at Sakura. Inner Sakura grew 50 feet and glared down at him. He jumped and slashed downwards, but she flicked him away from her. She then slammed Itachi into the ground, but he got up easily. Suddenly, Sakura felt the chains loosen and the vision vanished. Flopping to the ground, she gazed up to see Naruto knocking Itachi off balance. Sasuke charged after Itachi. Kakashi appeared next to her limp form, lifting her into a sitting position.

"Sakura. Sakura!!"he yelled, trying to snap her to attention. Sakura gazed up and looked at him, her right mind still out of place. Finally, she moaned. Stirring, Kakashi helped her stand while Naruto and Sasuke hopelessly tried to defeat Itachi. When she was steady, she pulled on her gloves. Forming chakra into her hand, she charged towards Itachi. Slamming her fist into the ground, she gasped as she realized he wasn't there. He had jumped up, and dodged it completely. As the dust cleared, Itachi appeared in front of Naruto, and punched him in the cheek. Naruto slammed into a tree, the impact knocking him out instantly. He slumped to the ground unmoving. Sasuke, full of rage and not thinking, charged stupidly towards Itachi with chidori. Itachi dodged it with ease, and  
threw two kunai in his back. Sasuke fell to the ground in pain, looking up at Itachi with extreme hatred. Kakashi appeared beside Itachi, knee kicking him in the stomach. Itachi quickly knocked Kakashi out of the way and dashed towards an unsuspecting Sakura. He was about to stab her in the stomach, when Inner Sakura spoke to him.

'_You kill her, you kill your baby.'_

He froze right in front of her, staring at her wide-eyed. Sakura looked up into his face, not expecting to see so much emotion. She figured he found out about the pregnancy.

"Meet me here tomorrow." she whispered.

"SAKURA!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!!! KILL HIM!!!"Kakashi yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I can't Kakashi-sensei. You'll understand soon enough."

Itachi took that statement as the time to leave. He took one last look at Sakura, before he vanished, heading back to base. Kakashi stared at her with shock and anger. She just simply walked over to Sasuke, harshly ripping the kunai out his back and tossing them aside, healing him in the process. Then she walked over to Naruto, carefully healing his shattered cheek bone. (Notice the difference in her care.) The four got up, dashing back to Konoha. Kakashi filled the two clueless boys in, who listened carefully. When they reached, Sakura turned to head home but Kakashi grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"Oh no you don't. You owe all of us an explanation. Including Lady Tsunade."he said sternly.

"No. I need to go home first and-ugh."

Kakashi hit her neck, and knocked her out. The last Sakura remembered was wind in her face, and the world went blank.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 is HERE!!!

Voices. Anger, shock. Footsteps.

Sakura was forced awake. Looking up, she saw an angry Tsunade. Not a good sign.

"Get up now. Hurry up."she said in a very demanding manor.

Sakura forced herself up, and looked around. The rest of team Kakashi was staring at her, in a not so comforting way.

"Now, you WILL tell me what the hell happened on your mission today."

"I...I can't. Not 's…really complicated. You'll figure it out anyways, so hehehe…"

The temperature suddenly took a surprising drop, and she met the eyes of a demoness in disguise.

"I…I…I…I'm…oh Tsunade…I'm pregnant!!"

"What!!!"yelled team Kakashi.

"It all happened about a month ago…"

**Flashback… **

Nurses hustled and bustled around. Mdeics ran, looking for their tools. Sakura, the head medic, was among them.

"Keep giving them oxygen! We can't lose them!"she commanded.

Rushing to meet her demands, they pumped more air.

"Sakura-sama!!! We can't do anything more. We can't stop the bleeding! It's just to much.*sob*."cried a young nurse.

"No!! We can't give up. We can still save them!!"yelled Sakura.

Suddenly, they took a turn for the worst. The two patients looked at each other weakly, and mouthed at the same time," I love you". There was complete silence, as that never-ending beep sounded. The heartbeat was at zero. Sakura paled, as she ran over, desperate to save them.

"Noooo,nonononononono*sob*." She did full power on her medic jutsu, but they remained still. She went back and forth, sobbing, tying to bring them back. The rest of her medic team watched helplessly, already knowing that it was too late. One of the males slowly reached out and pulled her sobbing body away from the still corpses. She turned and sobbed into his chest, as the rest of the team covered the bodies, and took them away.

Mitsuni Hintaro. Time of death, 1:35 AM. 10 years old.

Ryoma Takahashi. Time of death, 1:35 AM. 11 years old.

Cause of death: Fell from a 6-story apartment roof, while playing ninja.

Sakura tried her best to cover her tearstains on the report. She was pale, tired, and depressed. Walking down the medic hall, she ignored the looks of sympathy. How quickly the news had spread. Now all that was left to do was file the report, and meet the parents. Walking to the filing room, she put it away, and walked down to the lobby. She looked around, and saw the two worrying mothers huddled up together. She would never forget the look on Mrs. Takahashi's face as she learned of her son's fate, or the scream and sickening thud of Mrs. Hintaro as she learned of her daughter's.

4 hours later, Sakura sat drunken in the bar. 3 bottles of heavy sake can do a lot to you. She continued to down her feelings of depression. Taking a quick look around, she spotted something familiar. A black cloak with red clouds. Standing straight, she staggered over to the drinking Uchiha, and sat in the unoccupied seat in front of him.

"What are you doing here Mr. Uchiha."she said, her words slurred and hard to understand.

There was no answer as he just looked at her, immediately remembering her as his younger brother's sucker. Without a word, he stood and walked out of the filthy bar. Sakura got up and followed him outside, feeling rejected.

"Excuse me mister, may be drunk, but I ain't stupid. You're that S ranked criminal, right? What're the likes of you doing in this village?"she said loudly.

Itachi's eyes widened, at her loud vulgar tone, and swiftly picked her up and brought her to an ally.

She continued her loud questioning. Suddenly, soft lips silenced her. She gasped and melted into it. Itachi could no longer control himself. Though drunk, she was stunning. She moaned at his touch, as his hands traveled down her luscious curves. The last she remembered was a lot of action, pain, screaming, and panting. Then, she woke up in a motel.

**End Flashback...**

"I'm so sorry Tsunade! I… I was so upset about my failure I wasn't thinking!!! It all happened so fast.*sob*"

The group just looked at her wide-eyed.

Outside, nosey ears listened in on the conversation.

"You really shouldn't eavesdrop Ino. You'll get in lots of trouble."said Shizune.

"*gasp* Oh, yeah right. Tsunade called me here, but now she has me waiting. Please tell her I came." She set off, an evil grin lining her features.

"This is some good stuff. I'll bet everybody would like to hear this one. Sakura will thank me for it."


	6. Chapter 6

The silence was like death, creeping up Sakura's spine. All eyes were on the beautiful green-eyed bubble gum pink haired kunoichi. No one said a word, for the shock was still evident on their facial expressions. Seconds turned to minutes, and Sakura waited impatiently for their answer. Suddenly, Sasuke turned around and headed out the door, muttering these words.

"I'm outta here. This h** can do what she wants, but I'm not going to give mercy on her. That baby's father will perish by my hands. I don't care if she loves him. My revenge will come to pass, no matter how many sacrifices I'll have to make." With that, he walked out.

Naruto glared fiercely at Sasuke's retreating back. Kakashi went after him, but fist he gave Sakura a concerned look.

"I'll tell you the truth Sakura. I am disappointed, but I will not abandon you. If things get out of control, please ask for help." He ran after Sasuke, leaving the other three together.

Tsunade walked out mumbling something about sake, while Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. Naruto spread his arms, knowing Sakura would break down. As planned, she came running into his arms, sobbing her heart out. A few minutes later, she calmed down and looked up at him. He had a hurt look in his eyes, but then it turned into a grin.

"C'mon Sakura. Let's take our minds off this and get something to eat. Maybe a good bowl of ramen will make things easier, k." Looking up at him, she smiled, and the two set of to Ichiraku Ramen.

________________________________________________________________________

"Ita-chan hasn't been here for a while, un. He's got me worried un."

Flipping a lock of golden blonde hair back, Deidara cast a curious look at Kisame.

"How the hell am I gonna know where the damn kid is. He never says anything, and if I pry too much, he threatens to kill me." Kisame let out an annoyed moan.

"Hahaha. I find that funny, un. He has no respect for you, but who would, un? Your not human, un." Deidara flinched at the fierce glare he got in return. The two sat silently for a while, before they heard the crumbling of their hideout's boulder being removed. Quiet footsteps echoed down the hall, and Itachi stepped inside, completely ignoring their questioning stares.

"And where were you, un?" Itachi gave him a sharp glance, that said f**k off.

"You had to be the idiot to break the silence." Kisame looked at Deidara, but got an ignore in return.

Deidara's eyes searched Itachi, before something got his attention. It was a strand of bubblegum pink hair.

'Why would that be on Ita-chan, un?'he thought to himself. Getting up, he picked up the strand, and gave Itachi a playful look, before walking out.

Sakura and Naruto ate their ramen in silence, for they both knew what the other wanted to talk about.

"Sakura-chan, why? I…I understand that you were upset, I get upset to. But I, I could have been there for you. Why put yourself under these hard circumstances?" (A/N woah, Naruto said something smart! ^_^)

Sakura looked at him, with a blank stare. Turning back to her ramen, tears started to flow freely, and she sniffled a couple of times. Old Man Ramen looked up at her with a sad stare.

"Hello miss, I heard about what happened, here, have a bowl of ramen on me."

Sakura grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, and pulled him toward her so they were eye to eye.

"What!!!! Who told you this?!" Sakura's eyes were wide with emotion now. How could this have gotten to the public so fast?

Old Man Ramen cried out and shivered at the insane look in Sakura's eyes.

"A perky girl! Long blonde hair, light blue eyes! She was running around telling a whole bunch a folks!"

The man flinched as Sakura's face became clouded with rage. Dropping Old Man Ramen, she stood up and glared at Naruto.

"Take my ramen to go, and meet up with me at Ino's flower shop. There's going to be a lot of drama."

She stomped off, leaving the two men stunned and frightened. Sakura spotted the Yamanaka's flower shop in the distance, and hastened her pace. Busting in, the enraged girl yelled at everyone to get out. People scattered, gathering their belongings as fast as they could, and ran out. Sakura fastened her glare toward her so called "friend".

"Hey Sakura. How've you been. Is the baby alr-"%$#**&#%% ^%$^() %$%#$ %$$%# ^%**&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sakura screamed all sorts of hate words, and Ino stared at her in shock.

"How could you do this to me!!!!! I thought we were friends!!! And do NOT give me that "we are" look, because now, we are NOT!!!! Why the hell would you start blabbing to everybody that I was pregnant!!!?? Why!!!!? Think Ino!!! Telling everybody this won't help me at all. He's a damn S class criminal!!!! People will hate me now!!! You IDIOT!!!!!! &^*% %$^$!!!!!!!" Sakura broke down into heavy sobs, clutching her arms in pain.

"I…I was only trying to help. Calm down-"DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Just then, Tenten, and Hinata came in with angry faces. The glared at Ino, and then they looked toward Sakura with concern. Knowing that Sakura said exactly what they wanted to already, they embraced her in a hug.

"It's okay, now we know who your real friends are."said Tenten.

"W…we'll h…help you get t…through this Sakura-chan."

"ME BEING FRIENDS WITH SAKURA IS NOT FOR YOU AND HINATA TO DECIDE!!!!!!! IT'S BETWEEN ME AND HER!!!!!" Ino yelled at them with the anger and hurt evident in her voice.

"I just told you that we weren't friends anymore. At least not for a while."

There was quiet now, as Ino's eyes widened in shock and pain. Naruto quietly stepped in, and took a look around. He guessed the drama was pretty much over, and he quietly gave Sakura her bag with the takeout ramen. The four of them left, leaving a very shocked Ino. The group walked in silence, and they stopped at the entrance to Sakura's apartment. They all embraced her, telling her to call if she needed anything.

________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, or should I say afternoon, she awoke. Gasping at the time, she took a quick shower and threw on a white wife beater, grey sweated, a black mini skirt, and her ninja boots. Tying on her headband, she headed out without breakfast, but she had two little lunch sacks with her. Today was her meeting with Itachi. Sighing to herself, Sakura easily snuck pass the guards, disguising her chakra. Wandering the forest, she whispered his name, hoping he would answer. To her dismay, he didn't.

"Where is he?"

Suddenly, she saw him sitting back against a tree, eyes closed, arms folded. Slowly, she walked toward him, kneeling at his side. Touching him slightly, she shook him. Suddenly, his hand shot up and grabbed her neck fiercely. Getting up, he slammed her into the tree he was sitting against. Gasping with shock and fright, she dropped the lunches she made for them, and burst into frightened sobs, clutching his hand. His eyes shot open, and registered shock when he recognized her. The grasp on her neck loosened, and Sakura fell to the ground with a thud. Coughing, she took in the rush of air, and looked up at him in fear. His piercing Sharingan gaze fastened itself onto her, and Sakura's world went blank. The last she remembered were soft hands catching her fall.


	7. Chapter 7

As you well know, I don't own Naruto. I know, it sucks. If we all could own Naruto…the possibilities would be endless. NEXT CHAPPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!^_^

'Were am I? All I remember was Itachi chocking me and….Itachi!'

Sakura's eyes shot open and franticly searched the area. Looking down, Sakura gasped. Itachi's cloak was on her like a blanket. But where was he? She slowly sat up, and took a better look at her surroundings. One of the bento boxes she had packed was empty. Clutching the cloak to her shivering body, she sighed and looked around again. Suddenly, a fruit dropped and hit her head. Looking up, she saw Itachi looking down on her.

"Eat."

Sakura glared and took a bite, taking in the fact that her lunch was probably beyond cold by now.

"Get your ass down her so we can talk. Now." Her words came out icy and cold.

Itachi appeared beside her, and grabbed her arms, yanking her upwards, quite roughly.

"You don not seem to understand whom you speak."

"Did I stutter?"

"…" Itachi's grip on her tightened, and Sakura gritted her teeth in pain.

"Let's cut to the chase." She refused to show weakness to him, and let him claim glory by watching her in pain.

"I'm pregnant…with your baby…I found this out a few days ago. As you can see, the baby has already started to take form. Itachi's gaze met her rounding belly. Sakura shifted uneasily as he continued to stare. Keeping her voice firm, she continued.

"Now, what are you going to about it?"

"Nothing. This is not possible, nor it is my responsibility."

Sakura's gaze turned livid, and she glared fiercely at him.

'CHA!!!!! WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????? DAMN STRAIGHT IT'S HIS RESPONSIBILTY!!!!!!!!!' IS yelled, enraged at his lack of concern.

"I have a question for you wise ass. Do you have a penis?"

"What!?"

Itachi's eyes widened, and Sakura smirked. She had him now.

"Because as far as I'm concerned, if you have a penis, and I have a urinal, and we had an intimate moment, than it's absolutely possible for me to be pregnant with your baby." Sakura's head went side to side as she spoke, the girly attitude evident in her voice.

Itachi's gaze hardened and Sakura suddenly didn't fell so big.

"Well, maybe it wouldn't be anyone's responsibility if I got rid of the one who held the infant in her womb." As he spoke, Sakura face paled, and she tried to pull from his firm grip in fear.

"Y…you can't d…do that! It's your baby too! Don't you want the baby!?"

"I do not care for anyone other than myself. Why do you think I have no regrets about the fate of my clan? I only have interest in the strong. The weak have no right to live. You fit into that category."

Sakura's heart almost stopped. Suddenly, Sakura's senses became alert. They were not alone.

"Ah, so you finally noticed. There are four of them. Three are anbu, one probably jounin or chunin." He whispered fiercely. "I also hope you notice that I am a clone. Don't…mess…this…up." He put a harsh emphasis on these words, and Sakura shook her head, showing she understood.

'How could I be so stupid not to notice this earlier?'she thought to herself. Suddenly, one of them stepped out. It was a male, with long dark brownish hair, down below his buttocks. Crouching into a fighting stance, he got ready to attack.

"Byakugan!!"

Sakura's eyes widened in fear. The Neji Hyuga was up against them, more precisely Itachi. This was not good. Tsunade sent some of the best to retrieve her. Neji charged at Itachi, who prepared to dodge, when suddenly he couldn't move.

"Damn it." He cussed under his breath. Another anbu came out, a male with short spiked hair up in a ponytail.

"This is such a drag. You're not going anywhere. Sakura, c'mon. What are you doing here with this guy. Tsunade and your gang are pissed. Neji, take him out." Shikamaru put in most of his strength to keep Itachi down. Little did they know that this wasn't really him. In fact, a poor traveler was caught in Itachi's jutsu.

"Nooooo!" Sakura yelled and prepared to take the hit when to arms grabbed her and secured her in it's grasp.

"I'm sorry Sakura-san! But I cannot allow you to step any further!"

"Lee? You too? DAMMIT!!!!!!" She watched as Itachi's substitute took the hits of the legendary 64 palms. It's eyes dulled out of sharingan, and blood poured out of it's mouth. Sakura gasped and burst into tears well knowing that an innocent man who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time suffered a harsh fate.

Meanwhile, Itachi watched as the fourth, Ino, hid and waited to get Shikamaru's instructions. Hearing Sakura sob, he turned his gaze on her.

"Too soft."he muttered to himself.

Sneaking behind the unsuspecting Ino, he forcefully grabbed her, covering her mouth when she screamed. She looked into his eyes, and got lost in his mangekyou sharingan.

"You are a sorry girl." He stated it without emotion.

His voice echoed in his dark evil world and Ino shuttered. She was strapped down on an operating table. Itachi stood over her, with numerous tools beside him. It was then Ino realized she was naked. Taking a thick knife, he mercilessly started cutting up her skin, slicing wherever he pleased. Ino let out shrill screams, pleading for him to stop. Putting the knife down, he took out two thin blades and began gouging her eyes out. Ino screamed in intense agony.

'Why won't I die!!!!!???? WHY WON'T HE KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???? WHY CAN'T I DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Putting those down, he slowly cut off her fingers and toes. The torture continued for what seemed like days, when in reality, it was only seconds. Outside, Ino went limp in Itachi's arms, eyes wide open, tears streaming down her face. He shook her, but she didn't make a sound.

On the battlefield, the substitute Iatchi's disguise vanished, and in his place was a young boy, about 12 years old. Sakura broke out of Lee's stunned grasp, and ran to the limp child. She quickly began healing him. The others just watched. Neji suddenly whipped his head around, and realized he could no longer feel Ino's chakra. Itachi steeped out of the bushes, and dropped the stunned Ino on the ground.

"Ino!!! Damn you Itachi!!!!!!!!!" Shikamaru charged, but Itachi dodged his blows easily and punched him into a tree. One by one, the Konoha ninja went down. Sakura quickly finished up, and left the child quickly. Itachi picked her up bridal style, and dashed at frightening speeds through the forest out of Konoha territory.

"Where are you taking me!?" Sakura was scared. She didn't want to be taken to some remote area with a bunch of murderous freaks.

"To the base. No one will touch you, trust me."

Sakura suddenly felt a wave of calm wash through her, and she felt safe. Leaning her head against his chest, she went to sleep. Itachi gazed down at her sleeping form, and sighed. Finally, he reached base. Everything started to swirl as he snuck to his room unnoticed. Laying her down, he collapsed beside her one the bed, slipping to unconsciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 is finally here! WOO BABY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REMEMBER THAT NARUTO AND ALL OF IT'S CHARACTERS BELONG TO MASASHI KISHIMOTO. I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THEM. OKAY? GOOD. ^_^ Oh….and plz review. They are very encouraging…and I need encouragement. ^_^

"What is this crushing weight?"

Sakura forced open her eyes and looked down. Itachi was knocked out, enjoying her D sized pillows. A/N: Pregnancy has affected her boobs ^_^ Slowly running her hands through his hair, she looked around, noticing the bland room. There was a small wooden table, a chair, another bed, a blue fishman, a creepy grinning blonde, wait…blue fish? Creepy grinning blonde? Sakura gasped and stared at Kisame and Deidara, who stared back.

"My my, un. A beautiful kunoichi has graced us with her presence, un."

"Itachi has a LOT of explaining to do."replied Kisame.

Sakura looked back down at Itachi, and noticed that his arms were around her in an iron grip. Looking back up, she recognized Deidara at once, and glared.

"Oh…you remember me, un? Well then, no need for formalities, un. What the &$% did you do to Itachi, un?"

"Excuse you, but you do NOT know who you're talking to like that. You better fix your attitude before I fix it for you." Sakura's head bopped as she told him, a bit of Inner Sakura coming out. Deidara just laughed and turned towards Kisame. Itachi stirred from on top of Sakura. Suddenly, Itachi jumped up and flew of the bed and on the floor, his face blood red. Sakura immediately smirked, knowing the reason.

"Awwwwww. Itachi-kun didn't like my pillows? I thought Itachi liked my pillows. Since he saw the need to sleep on them like that."

Itachi just got up and walked out, returning almost immediately with two apples, tossing, one to Sakura. Deidara and Kisame just looked back and forth between the two.  
"So, un. Is there something you'd like to explain, un? Or do I have to spread the news, un?"

Itachi looked towards Sakura, and she looked back at him Sighing, she began to explain. Just as she was about to start, an agonizing pain shot through her stomach, and she cringed in pain.

"Eat." Itachi said icily.

She immediately took a bite into her apple, and the pain dulled. Deidara noticed Sakura's slightly swollen belly, and his eyes widened.

"I'm going to be a father."

"SAY WHAT!!!!!!!????" Kisame's eyes bulged out like golf balls, staring at Itachi.

"Did I stutter? Or are you hard of hearing?"

Kisame's face hardened into a glare. Itachi explained the whole situation. While they spoke, Sakura leaned into the bed. She was hungry and tired, but she was afraid to disrupt their conversation. She weakly whispered his name, but either he was ignoring her, or he was deaf, because he just kept on talking. Reaching next to her, she clutched the leg of the chair and crushed it into sand. That got their attention.

"I'm hungry Itachi-kun." She spoke weakly, her voice cracking. Looking at Kisame, Itachi gave him a look that said, "Get her something". Muttering words with extreme profanity, he stomped out, leaving Deidara and the couple together.

"How old are you, un?"

"Eighteen."

"Why so young, un? Didn't you want to wait a little, un? You had a full life ahead of you, un."

Sakura burst into tears, leaving the two boys stunned. She sobbed heavily and began hiccupping. Deidara looked at Itachi and flinched at the menacing glare he got in return.

"What am I gonna do!!!!!! What am *hiccup* gonna tell my mom *hiccup* and dad and*hiccup* everybody is so disappointed in me!!! *hiccup* I know they are!!!! The look in Naruto's face when he found out!!!!!!!!!!!!! *sob sob sob sob sob*." Sakura put her face in her hands and wept heavily, tears streaming down her face onto Itachi's sheets. Deidara quickly walked over and tried to sooth her, thinking about what Itachi would do if he didn't fix things.

"Never mind, un. I shouldn't have said anything , un. You'll be okay, un. Please don't cry anymore, un."

"Please*hiccup* stop with all the un's."

"…un"

"Stop." she glared now at Deidara, who grinned in satisfaction.

"Why should I, un. It's my accent, un."

"Well, you must have come from the village of retards cuz I've never heard of a 'un' accent before." She smirked.

"Ahem."

All turned toward Itachi, and he began to talk.

"We need to talk about the future. What are we going to do with the child?"

"We tried this approach already. The question is, hat are YOU going to do? It's ok though. I already have the answer for you. You are going to help me raise the child, train them to be formidable ninja, and be a good father. Otherwise, I'll kick you ass."

"Fine."

Sakura giggled happily.

"Finally! It's about time this jackass finally accepted the fact he's a father!"yelled Inner Sakura.

Meanwhile, there was an important meeting taking place back at Konoha, in the Hokage's office.

"NANI!!!!! SAKURA-CHAN IS WITH ITACHI!!!!!!!!???"

"Yes Naruto. Sadly, this is what I was told by Neji and the two I sent with him. Ino and Lee. Sadly, Ino was badly injured during the process. Itachi took her out with vicious methods.

"Don't tell me he used…"

"That's right Kakashi. He used Tsukiyomi on her. She hasn't woken up yet."

"Damn him. Any word on Sakura's current location?" asked Kakashi.

"No. We do know that she willingly left with Itachi though, meaning that they might be at the new Akatsuki base. They relocated, and we can't get a single lead on where they might be. I sent trackers…but Itachi hid his tracks well." Tsunade replied.

Naruto paced the office angrily muttering cuss words and such. Tsunade and Kakashi watched him sadly. She sighed and took out a large bottle of sake, and pouring herself a glass, she doused it angrily.

"Naruto, I need you to step out. I must speak to Kakashi…alone."

"But…Grandma Tsunade!! I need to stay! I…I have to know everything that's going on…I…I…DAMN IT!!!!"

Naruto couldn't hold back the tears anymore. What was he supposed to do?

"I'm so sorry Naruto. I'm trying my hardest to find her. Shizune, please send for Iruka to escort Naruto to Ichiraku for some ramen. That's all I can do for him."

"Hai Lady Tsunade."

The two exited, leaving Tsubade and Kakashi alone.

"How does it feel Kakashi. To lose a student again. Right after you got Sasuke back."

"I…I don't know what else to do…The anbu team is trying their hardest. Do you think your dogs can do the job?"

Outside, Sasuke just walked in the building, just hearing the news.

"Is it true? Did she really go with that monster?"

He gritted his teeth in anger, and clenched his fist.

"Yeah."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, only to see his eyes brimming with tears.

"Sasuke?"

"You don't understand the depth of this situation. Sakura is with my brother. A ruthless murderer. He knows how to play a girl's mind. He can manipulate Sakura into thinking he loves her. He can make her trust him. And in the end, his bloodlust will take her by surprise. HE'LL KILL HER NARUTO!!!! What I said earlier…I didn't mean it. I was just upset."

Naruto and Shizune stared at Sasuke in shock.

Naruto thought about when Sasuke left to Orochimaru. All the pain it caused. And now Sakura as well. Then, something dawned on Naruto. The thought hit him like a truck. A dizzy spell hit Naruto, and his eyes widened in horror. Naruto staggered into Tsunade's office, startling the two.

"Naruto!! I told you to wait outsi…Naruto?"

"NOOOOOO!!!!! OROCHIMARU IS AFTER AND UCHIHA!!!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!!!!!! SAKURA IS CARRYING THE UCHIHA HEIR!!!!!"

"We know that Naruto."

Sasuke ran in. He understood what Naruto meant.

"He means that if Orochimaru finds out that Sakura is pregnant with an Uchiha… she's dead. He wants and Uchiha. If he gets his hands on this information…"

"He will stop at nothing until he gets that child." Tsunade finished, her eyes wide with fear.

Hidden well, a young man with long gray hair pushed up his glasses, a wild grin on his face.

"This…is going to get interesting."


	9. Chapter 9

Dashing at top speeds through the forest, a young man by the name of Kabuto headed towards the base of his superior, Orichimaru. He had just found out information that he knew Orochimaru would like. He quickly called out two other sound ninja to his side.

"Take care of our little anbu for me."he said.

The two ninja made a quick U-turn towards their enemy. Kabuto heard the distant startled screams of the unprepared anbu fade into the night. Snickering to himself, he continued his journey.

Meanwhile…

Itachi leaned back in his chair doing as he was told. Sakura had decided she would help him fix his eyesight. The price of his prized Mangekyou Sharingan was grave. Day by day, his eyesight was slowly depleting. In fact, he was legally blind. Sighing to himself, he remembered what the feisty bubblegum pink haired kunoichi told him earlier.

"My child will NOT have a blind father. If I can help him now, I sure as hell will."

'What have I gotten myself into. The one time I decide to ignore adolescence, I get a girl pregnant. Damn.'he thought.

"Itachi?"asked a very concerned Sakura.

"Hn."

"Are you okay? You've sighed at least ten times now."

"Hn."

"Okay. I need you to open your eyes a little wider for me."

"Hn."

"Now, activate your Sharingan. I need to see something."

"Hn."

He did what she told him, and activated it. Sakura gasped.

"Your Sharingan are like contacts. Since you can't see very well with the normal eye, you use the Sharingan as a substitute. It helps your lack of eyesight and therefore it helps your agility."

"…"

"Meaning, without your Sharingan, you're chopped liver."

"…hn"

"Return to your normal eye please."

"Hn."

"Good. Now, this might sting a little."

Sakura began by carefully placing her hands over his eyes. Closing her eyes, she focused her chakra to the palm of her hand. The healing power flew slowly through her hands into his eyes. Itachi gritted his teeth. It felt like his eyes were on fire. The burning intensified, and seemed to spread through his body, even his fingertips. They began to twitch, and finally, Itachi slapped Sakura's hands off his face, startling her.

"Itachi-kun?"she asked frightened.

"Ugh."

"Um…I haven't perfected the technique yet. It's kinda new."

"So why the hell would you try it out on me. Am I some ******* test subject!"

Itachi's eyes were writhing in pain. Sakura helped him into the bathroom, and he washed his face. She watched in horror as blood dripped from his eyes, turning the gathering water red. Her eyes filled with tears, and she staggered out.

"I…I'm so sorry!"she sobbed.

Putting her hands to her face, she ran out the room. Inside, Itachi heard her run out, and opened his eyes. What the…he could see clearly. Drying his face, he ran after her, just in time to see her turn the corner.

"Damn! The others don't know about her, and if they find her…"

Speeding up, her reached his hand out and grabbed her arm, yanking her back harshly. She was about to let out a startled scream, when his hand clamped against her mouth.

"Shutup. It worked. I can see, now, don't panic."

Itachi formed a hand sign, and it seemed to Sakura that they were melting into the wall. They were in a black void. Nothing was there accept a window. She watched as a thing with some kind of sack over the head. It had yellow eyes. Sakura paled when it turned its head, and then continued walking. Her breath got raspy and short. It's chakra seemed deadly.

"I..I can't …breathe…"

"I told you not to panic."

He looked at her, and saw her pale figure. He noticed her shivering, and her widened eyes. He shook her a few times, and called her name, but she didn't respond.

"He didn't see us."

"It…It looked right through me Itachi-kun."

"You'll be okay. Now let's go. We have to get back to my room."

"O…okay."

Sakura calmed down, and they silently emerged from the blackness, and immediately dashed back into Itachi's room.

"Don't pull that stunt again."

"Okay. Is your vision clear?"

"Hn."

Sakura smiled happily, a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. Itachi's heart stopped, and his eyes widened, his cheeks burning. Who was this girl? What was she that could have such an effect on him like this? Itachi stared at her wide eyed. He had never felt this way before. Could he really be in love with this girl?

"Itachi?"

Itachi snapped out of it and his face went back to its emotionless mask.

"It's nothing."

Meanwhile…

Kabuto just reached the base. It was quiet, and he quickly entered, well knowing which way to go. He walked into a large room, where he saw a shadowy figure perched on a throne.

"What is it Kabuto."

"Wonderful news Lord Orochimaru."he answered.

"And what would that wonderful news be?"

"I've just found out that a young female by the name of Sakura is with child. But not any child. She carries Uchiha Itachi's baby."

Orochimaru grinned wildly. This news greatly excited him.

"Who is this female?"

"She is the pink haired girl who travels with that brat Naruto."

Orochimaru grinned even wider.

"That means that this child's capabilities will be even stronger. That girl has a brute force that rivals Tsunade's. Kabuto, this is our chance to get our hands on an Uchiha again. I will have that child, and I will obtain that body."

"This also gives us another chance to get Sasuke back."

"Kukukukuku."

Meanwhile…

Tsunade paced back and forth. Naruto and Sasuke were right. If Orochimaru found out, Sakura would be in grave danger. Just then, Shizune busted into Tsunade's office, clutching Tonton tightly.

"Tsunade-sama!!!! I have horrible news!!!"

"What is it!!! What happened!!!"

"Two anbu were found dead in the forest. We were able to identify them, but…"

"But what? WHAT!?"

"Tonton recognized the sent of the killer."

"And who was it?"

"…Kabuto."

Tsunade's eyes widened in fear.

"DAMN IT!!!! Kabuto must have been spying on our conversation!!! We have to find Sakura and drag her back to the village if necessary. She is caught betweem two of the most deadliest forces she'll probably ever recon with!!! Itachi and Orochimaru!!!"

"So what do we do Tsunade-sama?"

"I have no choice but a full scale search. I will not have my apprentice falling in love with a murderer like him, and I will not have Orochimaru find her first!!! Summon all available teams. We must find her!!!"

"HAI!!!"

Shizune sped off to do what she was told.

At Orochimaru's hideout…

"Tell me when, Orochimaru, and I will send a team to find her."

"Patience, Kabuto. We will strike when she is eight months pregnant. Until then, I merely want you to find her, and watch her secretly. When the moment is right, we shall strike."

Kabuto grinned maniacally, and he and Orochimaru laughed a wicked laugh. Both failed to notice the floating eye above them, gathering everything it could. Outside the room, a certain sound ninja listened carefully. The one beside him failed to notice the thin strings attached to it. Outside the fortress, a beautiful blonde kunoichi hovered above on a large fan, grinning slightly.

"Hehehe. Orochimaru doesn't know what's commin."she smirked. ^_^


	10. Chapter 10

A/N-Ahem…we all know who owns Naruto. Anyways…if you want to know the reason my updates take so long…check my profile. PLEASE REVIEW ^_^

The sand siblings traveled at top speeds toward the gates of Konoha. They had important news that couldn't be trusted by their mailing birds.

"So Gaara, why are we helping them out?"asked Kankuro.

Gaara turned his head slightly, casting an annoyed glance at Kankuro. He sighed and rolled his eyes, looking over to Temari who flew on her fan.

"Obviously because Konoha are our allies, and if Orochimaru has a plan that could help him succeed, we need to warn them so we can fight together."answered Temari, annoyed at the puppet master's stupidity.

"Oh. Sorry for annoying you so much Temari."he replied sarcasticly.

Temari clenched her fist in annoyance. He had been bothering her the whole 2 day journey since they escaped from Orochimaru's hideout. He was really asking for it.

"Enough."

All eyes turned to Gaara.

"This is not the time for useless bickering. Let's focus on getting to Konoha. That should be our main thought."

He dashed on ahead of them, focused on helping his good friend Naruto save his beloved teammate.

Meanwhile…

Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Gai, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, Shino, Kurenai, and Shizune stood in Tsunade's office, dumbfounded at the news. A few already knew about Sakura's current situation, but none were prepared to find out that Orochimaru was after her and her baby. The office was dead silent now.

"So…what do we do now?"asked Kiba.

"What the hell do you think dunce!!!!?? We get to Sakura before Orochimaru does!!"said Naruto. He was desperate to save Sakura from her newfound boyfriend and her dangerous enemy.

"And we get rid of Itachi in the process."replied Sasuke. He would NOT have Sakura be Itachi's new lover. No way in hell.

Everyone nodded his or her heads in agreement.

"Now, all we need is a plan."

Shino glanced out the window. He had a few of his bugs statined around the outside of Konoha's gates. A few flew a little farther than necessary, and detected movement.

'The sand simblings…are in trouble.'he thought.

"Lady Tsunade, we have trouble." (Shino…observant as always. ^_^)

*%$*%^$(&$^*&$^&($^(&$^(&$^(&$^(&^$%#&$^$%$&(%(&%(*%*&%(&$^%$#*

Sakura's eyes slowly fluttered open. She turned her head slightly to see Itachi sitting on the repaired chair, staring hard at her.

"Tchi-ku."she mumbled.

Closing her eyes again, she remembered what happened before she passed out.

Flashback…

Sakura threw up in the toilet for the umpteenth time. Itachi held her up and kept her hair out of her face. She started crying after, trying to hold the rest in. She swallowed hard and sobbed.

"I can't eat anything."

"You can eat. Just take your time. You have to learn how to keep it in, or the baby won't be healthy."

"But I don't*sob*I don't know how."

"You'll figure it out."he mumbled impatiently. But on the inside, he was slightly concerned.

Itachi helped Sakura use the mouthwash. Then, she passed out.

End Flashback…

"How long was I out?"

"…about 2 hours."

"Oh."

There was a knock on the door, and Deidara came in with a bowl of ramen and two pills with a glass of water on a tray.

"I brought you some food, un. I knew you weren't feeling well so I have some pills that will help, un."

Itachi watched as Sakura struggled to sit up.

"Maybe you should help her, un."

Itachi glared at Deidara and helped Sakura sit up. Deidara carefully placed the tray down. Sakura recognized the pills. She knew they would help her.

"Itachi, I need to speak with you in private, un. It's serious, un."

*^# (&$*^*(&(+)&+)&&^%&$%&#$#%$$E^%*&*^_(*&+_((*%&^$*^#^$%#*^$%

Gaara suddenly stopped short. His siblings looked at him in concern. Gaara's sand burst out of the gourd and plowed into the ground, pulling up three sound ninja.

"You actually thought you could just simply get away?" Kabuto stepped out of the trees holding Matsuri by the neck.

"I'm sorry Gaara-sama!"she sobbed.

"I told you to stay at the village!!"he yelled and gritted his teeth. This was NOT good.

"TEMARI, KANKURO! I need you to go on and give Konoha the message!"

"I don't think so Gaara. You don't want Matsuri to get hurt do you?"

Just then, Matsuri bit Kabuto's hand hard, forcing him to release her. She kicked him in the face and appeared next to Gaara. 50 sound ninja jumped out of the trees to attack. Kankuro released his puppets. Crow separated into separate parts and blades shot out, ramming into some un-expecting. Gaara crushed the three in his sand and moved it to take out 5 more. Temari jumped off her fan and released the wrath of her Wind Scythe Jutsu, cutting about 15 to pieces. Kabuto appeared in front of Kankuro.

"Is this a challenge?"mocked Kankuro, ready to fight.

"Ha!" replied Kabuto as he charged towards Kankuro at a frightening speed. Kankuro's puppets circled Kabuto performing various attacks, which he dodged easily.

"Is THIS all you have?"

Kankuro cussed under his breath. Kabuto performed a few quick hand signs and his hands glowed blue with chakra.

"Chakra Scalpel!!" yelled Kabuto as he charged, severing Kankuro's chakra strings, causing the puppets to fall limp.

"It's time to finish this. It's a pity you couldn't prove more of a challenge Kankuro. To think I was excited."

Kabuto pushed up his glasses and grinned wildly. He appeared in front of Kankuro and rammed his hand through the puppet master's chest. Kankuro screamed in agony, catching the siblings attention. Temari screamed and charged at Kabuto, using her fan and blowing him through some nearby trees. Gaara looked over at Kankuro and paled. He didn't look like he was breathing. More and more sound ninja appeared. Was this ever going to end?

"Matsuri! Go see if you can help Kankuro!' yelled Gaara as he finished off a fresh batch of sound ninja.

"Yes Gaara-sama."she replied.

"It sssseemsss you are having a bit of trouble Kabuto."

All eyes turned to the rising snake where Orochimaru stood on top of it's head.

"What should I do Masssster."it spoke.

"Take care of the girl with the fan for me. I have to sssspeak a word to Gaara-kun. Hehehehe."

Orochimaru jumped down and appeared in front of Gaara.

"We meet again Orochimaru. How unlucky I have to gaze upon your disgusting face again."Gaara spat.

Orochimaru grinned and quickly performed a few handsigns. Millions of snakes appeared behind him. Gara smirked and spread his arms raising them above his head, a gigantic wave of sand coming up from the ground. The two forces collided and wind blew everywhere.

Temari and the summoned snake battled fiercely. Temari panted and fell on one knee. Her chakra was almost completely drained, and here stood the snake with but a few scratches and bruises. It charged at her and scooped her up in its mouth from the waist down. It shot its head up in the sky, and Temari screamed in pain as she felt its strong teeth penetrating her. Gaara glimpsed up and Orochimaru seized his opportunity. Snakes wrapped themselves around Gaara, crushing him. Gaara moaned and fell limp, his sand dropping to the ground.

"GAARA-SAMA!!!!!!!!" Matsuri screamed and charged with a kunai in each hand. She managed to cut the snakes off Gaara, and he fell to the ground, not moving. Temari gasped as she saw what was happening, but there was nothing she could do.

"It hurts to feel useless doesn't it?"

Temari turned her head to see Kabuto standing atop the snake, grinning happily.

"B*****D!" she spat.

"Finish her."Kabuto commanded.

The snake charged it's head to the ground. Kabuto jumped off the snake and laughed. The snake crashed into the ground, and Temari screamed at the bone crushing blow, falling completely unconscious.

"Gaara- sama." Matsuri said softly as she ran over to where he lay.

"Troublesome wrench!"Orochimaru spat. "Snake Sword!!!" he yelled.

The sword grew out of his mouth and roughly shoved itself through Matsuri's petite belly. She screamed in agony as he lifted his head and turned upwards, causing her to slide down the sword and fall limp on his face, her eyes wide open. Gaara woke up at the scream and turned, horrified to see Orochimaru swing her off, and her fall to the ground motionless. He carelessly flicked the blood off his sword and allowed it to retreat, grinning at Gaara.

"A beautiful sight, ne Kabuto?"

"Indeed, Lord Orochimau."

Kabuto waltzed up to the incapacitated Gaara, and took out a kunai.

"Goodnight Gaara-kun."

"Kabuto rammed the kunai through Gaara's chest. He moaned in pain and shook hardly, before falling limp.

"I've failed you…Naruto…kun…"

Sakura shot out of the bed she was in, frightening Itachi and Deidara. They ran back into the room. Sakura's eyes widened and she paled shaking slightly.

"Gaara-kun!!!"she screamed.

"Nani?"asked Itachi.

What was wrong with this woman?

"Gaara-kun is in trouble. Gaaara-kun…Orochimaru…"she mumbled.

Sakura had discovered a new abilty. Inner Sakura was now able to travel like an invisible spirit while Sakura was unconscious. Inner Sakura had just witnessed the defeat of Gaara.

"Itachi-kun!!!" yelled Sakura.

She quickly moved to where her Konoha headband lay, and tied it to her forhead. She tok a rubberband and tied her hair up, and strapped on her ninja shoes.

"I don't care if Konoha is mad at me, but I am still a Konoha ninja, and I we vowed to protect our allies."

Sakura ignored the weakness she was feeling and grabbed her bag with her ninja and medical supplies. She pulled on her gloves and looked over at the stunned Itachi and Deidara.

"This is what I was telling you about…un. Orochimaru knows what's going on. He's onto the pregnancy, he's onto everything, un."

"Damnit." Itachi mumbled under his breath. Deidara was right. Since Orochimaru failed with his brother; why not start from scratch with a baby Uchiha heir?

Itachi gazed at Sakura, and then grabbed his Akatsuki cloak. Undercover or not, Itachi had vowed he would protect his little brother. If Sasuke was in Konoha, then he would sacrifice everything for the village.

He and Sakura dashed out, desperate to make to Gaara on time. ^_^


	11. Chapter 11

Sakura dashed faster than she had ever in her life. Zooming through the forests, she burst into a small clearing…and almost threw up at the sight she saw. The scent of blood slammed into her like a train, and she moaned, catching her companion's attention. Itachi gazed upon the graphic scene in front of him, not really fazed having been the murderer of his own clan. Sakura sucked in her fear and ran over to her allies. Orochimaru. She could feel the eerie presence he left behind. Sakura looked for Gaara, and saw his sand moving slowly around him in a circle. He was trying to move. The sand moved over to a young girl she recognized from way back in her genin days.

"Matsuri-chan…"she whispered.

Sakura quickly moved to where Gaara laid, his fingers twitching, directing the sand. Tears streamed down Sakura's face, as she watched Gaara desperately try to help his friends and family.

"Itachi-kun…"

"Hn."

"Please move the brown haired girl over to Gaara, it will make it easier to heal him."

Itachi wordlessly moved the girl over, while Sakura tended to Gaara's wounds. Gaara opened his eyes slightly…and they widened.

'It's Naruto's beloved friend. I must warn her.'

"N…Naruto's beloved. *cough*."

Sakura gasped and looked at him.

"Y…you are in great danger…*cough*…"

Gaara flinched in pain and forced himself to speak further. Itachi listened closely.

"Is it true that you are …w…with child?"

"Yes…"

"Itachi Uchiha is the father?"

"You shouldn't speak Gaara, you need to res-'Hush.'

Sakura shut her mouth.

"Orochimaru…will come for you…when you are… 8 months pregnant…he desires the…heir."

Sakura's eyes widened. So what Deidara said was true.

"Thank you, Gaara-sama."

"Please save…my family…I will be fine…I just need…to…rest."Gaara fell limp again, his breathing returned to normal. Sakura held back her tears and performed quick hand signs, 3 Shadow Clones appearing nest to her.

"Please help the others."she whispered.

"HAI!!" they yelled and spread out to Temari, Kankuro, and Matsuri. Sakura accompanied one on Matsuri. She was on the borderline to death, and if Sakura stalled, she would lose her. Itachi watched soundlessly as Sakura performed her Medic Jutsu. She was very talented. In about 15 minutes, Sakura had closed Matsuri's wound. The girl would live…but she needed to be taken care of for at least two weeks. Suddenly, Itachi appeared by her and whispered harshly in her ear.

"Konoha ninja approach us."

Sakura's eyes widened, as Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi burst out of the trees. Naruto gasped at seeing her so close to Itachi. Sasuke frowned and cursed aloud.

"Sakura, what the f**k are you thinking!"

Naruto just took in the rest of the scene and gasped again.

"GAARA!!!! Sakura-chan…how…how could you…"

"NO Naruto!! It wasn't me!! Orochimaru did this Naruto…I came just in time to save them."

"You don't listen do you dobe? Tsunade told us about this before we came. We just weren't expecting to see them defeated…at least…not like this."

Kakashi's eye narrowed at how Sakura didn't seem to be afraid of Itachi. In fact, she seemed comforted. Something else caught his attention. Itachi was out of Sharingan, and it seemed as if his eyesight was back to normal.

"Sakura…don't tell me you…"

"What happened!!"yelled Naruto and Sasuke.

"She healed his eyes…his eyesight was depleting reapidly, so much that he was dependent on the Sharingan. But now it seems as if that changed."said Kakashi, his tone disgusted.

"Sakura…how could you help this murderer!!!"screamed Sasuke, now in full Sharingan.

Itachi flinched slightly. If only Sasuke knew what he felt for him. If only…  
Naruto noticed that look Itachi gave Sasuke, even though it lasted less than a second.

"Because he is my child's father."

"How do you trust him, I just can't accept this!"

"What do you want me to do SASUKE!!!!screamed Sakura, heavy tears falling down her face.

Sakura sobbed heavily now. This was crazy. In one simple night, one simple night of pleasure, her life went spiraling downwards. Pregnant, forced to love a murderer, being hunted by an insane gay snake…it was just too much. Sakura couldn't handle it. Her head started to pound, and so did her lower abdomen. Team seven started to make their way over in concern, but they stopped still when Itachi quickly moved and wrapped his arms around sobbing girl's expanding waist. He leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Sleep, my kunoichi."

Sakura gazed up into his eyes. Eyes that usually held hatred, held compassion. She touched his face, her eyes blurring in and out of vision. The pain was getting worse, and Sakura felt herself drifting away.

'He…he loves us.' Said Inner Sakura.

Sakura felt him catch her, and darkness overtook her.

Itachi gazed at his angel. He never felt this way about another person before. In one moment, when he watched her sob in pain, all the barriers he had built around his heart collapsed, making enough space for her and his brother to occupy. (Whoever is keeping up with the manga online should understand this last statement.)

"Itachi."

He looked up and saw the noisy blonde standing before him, all playfulness gone from his eyes. Instead, a serious 'I don't take s**t' mask overtook his features.

"Hn."

"Promise me…promise me that you'll take care of her. Promise me that she won't suffer another agonizing heartbreak. Promise me that you will protect her with you're life."

"Hn."

"Promise me, that you will protect her, like you would protect your brother."

Itachi's eyes widened. So he wasn't a complete jackass after all.

"I promise, Kyubi."

Kakashi smirked under the mask. Sasuke however, was completely oblivious.

"Naruto, Sasuke, each of you take one injured."

Naruto bit his thumb, and clompleted the summoning for Gamabunta. The overgrown miserable toad appeared.

"Whaddaya want this time!!?"

"Take us to Konoha. We have injured and we need to make it there quickly."said Naruto.

"And why should I?"

"NANI!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? JUST DO IT DATTEBAYO!!!!!"

"Hmpf."

They carefully moved the injured onto the toad. Before they hopped away, Naruto took one lat look over at Sakura and Itachi. Itachi turned and vanished, running with blinding speed. Naruto turned back around and they were off as well.

Naruto and co finally made it to Konoha. Medics awaited their return, so when they arrived, they went right to work. Team seven reported to Tsunade's office, and filled her in.

"I see…"

"TSUBADE-SAMA!!!" Shizune busted into the office, wide-eyed. Beside her was Gaara.

"Tell her what you heard Kazekage-sama."

Gaara told her everything that happened, and they all gasped in unison.

"So as of now, we only have about 7 months. In 7 months, we must be prepared to protect Sakura. This could be war. We cannot let Orochimaru's hands fall on that child, or Konoha is doomed."

A girl with long green hair that reached her shins, walked quietly into Orochimaru's chambers. She had a fishnet top, with only a bra for coverage, and mini shorts. She also had on fishnet leggings, and bandages on her shins, and her ninja shoes. Bright pink eyes scanned the area, falling on the figure sitting on the throne.

"Ahhh, Ssssephira… sssso you made it."

"Yes, my master."she answered in a monotone voise.

"Do you have the vile?"he asked.

She brought out a small glass tube, with a suspicious purple liquid.

"Wonderful. With this, most of the work will be complete. Just have the pink haired kunoichi swallow it, and we will be victorious. I will get the child…"

"And Konoha will be destroyed." She finished, an emotionless mask on her face.

Sephira poofed away, and appeared at the Akatsuki base. She took out a sack, that had a strange powder inside it. She jumped up about 50 ft into the sky and poured it into her hand. Then she spun at a fast speed, spreading the powder everywhere.

(&$*$(&%&*)^)*&%*&#&$%R&^(*^_(*^(*&($%^#*&$R&(*^()^(*&$^#*^&%(%&*

Inner Sakura explored the rest of the Akatsuki's underground base. There were so many rooms, and she spied on a lot of the members she wasn't familiar with. Suddenly, something didn't seem right. She looked into one of the rooms, to see the occupant writhing in pain on the floor. She heard a feminine laugh from outside, and ran back to Itachi's room.

Inner Sakura POV…

"This can't be good.'I think to myself.

Every room I passed, it was the same thing. Could this be an ambush? I bolted down the hallways, and ran through a couple walls till I reached Itachi-kun's. I gasp, and see him lying on the floor, eyes wide opened. Deidara was wrestling with a ugly-ass little girl, but it seemed to me like he was being affected with this 'thing' too.

'She must be after Sakura. Damn, I'm still a spirit like being, so there's nothing I can do. It's best for me to just wake Sakura up now. Hopefully she's not affected by this stuff since she's sleeping.' I thought.

I quickly lay down on top of Sakura, just as Deidara-kun collapsed. I felt my invisible body numbing, and I was again confined in Sakura's mind.

'CHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAKE THE HELL UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

I could feel Sakura's senses coming to. Good, now, I'll just leave the rest to her.

Sakura stirred and woke up. Sephira stood in front of her, holding a strange looking liquid. Sakura looked and saw Itachi and Deidara on the ground. She quickly jumped up catching Sephira by surprise. Gathering chakra, Sakura rammed her fist into Sephira's face, causing her to fly back into a wall.

"Ahhhh!" she screamed.

Jumping up, she kicked Sakura's stomach, causing Sakura to double over in pain. She then grabbed Sakura, holding her in a headlock. Sakura struggled, screaming and kicking. Sephira quickly yanked the cork off using her teeth and forcing the vile down Sakura's throat.

'NOOOO!!!' Sakura screamed in her thoughts.

Sakura was thrown into the wall. Something didn't feel right.. She could almost hear the infant in her womb crying, screaming. To Sakura, this felt worse than death. She slid to the floor, staring at the grinning Sephira, terrified. Millions of images filled her head. It was like she could see the child within her. The infant was in pain. She could feel it. Sakura just lay against the wall, tears flowing, motionless, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, but my master has commanded me to do this, so I must." Sephira said as she looked down on Sakura sadly.. Suddenly, Sephira couldn't breath. Itachi held her by her neck, his face the scariest Sakura had ever seen him. His eyes were in full Sharingan, and his face was filled with such an extreme rage, that Sephira didn't have the strength to fight against his insane chokehold.

"What did you do."he spat venomously.

Sephira remained quiet, and Itachi slammed her face into a wall. Her nose cracked, and blood dripped down from it, onto the floor. He then activated his Mangekyou, but Sakura screamed, getting his attention.

"Don't do anything to her, just let her go…"

'WHAT!? Am I hearing correctly. Let her go, God knows what we swallowed and what it's doing. Let her pay with her life. Karma…'fumed Inner Sakura.

'There's no point in killing her. What's done is done…'

'What's done is done my ass. What's happening to us, what's happening to the baby? For f**k's sake, why are you so damn kind hearted!? She shouldn't live, look what she did, and-'ENOUGH!!!!!'

Sakura blocked Inner Sakura out of her mind and looked over at Itachi and the cowering little girl on the floor. Sakura didn't notice how young she was until now. Sephira covered her head and curled up into a ball, shivering in fear.

'My master said I would'nt get hurt. But it hurts.'she thought.

Itachi glared down hard at the scared child. He looked at her unnatural eyecolor, and his face hardened even more in rage.

"She's an experiment. A child being used by Orochimaru."he said.

Sakura gasped. Poor child looked no younger than 8 years old. She was abnormally strong for that age. The girl looked back and forth between the two.

"What did you do to my comrades?"

"P…poison."

"Will they live?"

"Yes…They should wake up soon. I…I'm sorry!!! Master told me to do it!!!! If I don't do what he says he hits me and then I have to go in the tube with water!!!! It hurts and I don't wanna get in trouble!!!! *SOB*"

"It's ok sweetie."said Sakura, now standing. "Come here. I promise I won't hurt you."she said.

The girl slowly stood up, still sobbing and walked over to Sakura, who knelt down and soothed her tears.

"Sakura…we also need to prepare for the oncoming attack from Orochimaru…"

"Right. Listen sweetie."

"Y…yes?"

"You can stay with us, do you want that?"

"But…what if Master gets mad and he hurts me again?"

"We'll protect you, ok."

"Ok…"

Itachi's eyes lingered on Sakura. What about that stuff she swallowed. Hopefully she would be alright.

Orochimaru watched and laughed, grinning wildly.

"So, that stupid brat is with them, she wass a useless pawn anyways. Soon, she will expire. What matters is that now, that child is in my grasp. All I need is to add the finishing touch, and that will be completed in 7 months time. Kukukuku."


	12. Chapter 12

Hey!!! Next chapter is here!

**Before we continue…I'd like to ask for REVIEWS. If you fave my story, or put it on story alert, it must mean you like it. So please give me your thoughts…I'd really appreciate it. **

Four months have passed. Sakura is five months along. In three months, she will deal with the most epic battle of her life. But she had the support of two Akatsuki members and her boyfriend Itachi Uchiha. Not only that, but Konoha and Suna were also on her side…

Sakura gathered more chakra in her hands, delivering a fearsome blow to Itachi, only for him to poof away.

"Damn…another clone…EEP!"

A kunai knife was pressed to her throat. Sakura sighed in annoyance. It was hard. She couldn't lie. Training and being five months pregnant was quite the challenge.

"Mommy!!! Look what Deidei-kun made for me!"

Sakura and Itachi turned and saw Sephira running to them, a huge grin plastered on her face. She showed them a beautiful clay sculpture of a butterfly.

"Beautiful…it'll go perfect with the dog, cat, horse, beetle, ladybug, prayer mantis,-

"Leave her alone Itachi-kun. It's nice sweetie. Did you say thank you?"

"Oh…Deidei-kun!!!"she yelled.

Deidara poofed beside her and grinned.

"Un?"

"GOMEN!!"she yelled happily.

"You're very welcome, un. Uh-oh…here comes mascot-kun, un."

Kisame glared and Sephira and Sakura giggled.

"I'm so glad you're my mommy now. And Chichi-kun should be my daddy cuz you two are always together. Deidei-kun should be uncle. Mascot should be mascot. *giggle*"

"Mom…Dad…"Sakura mumbled, grabbing everyone's attention.

"OH MY GOD MY PARENTS!!! THEY WERE ON A MISSION AND NOW I'M MISSING!!!!" Sakura screamed and dashed inside the base. Itachi's eyes widened and he quickly caught up to her.

"You stupid woman…you can't just run inside remember. The other don't know-

"Don't know what Itachi?"

Sakura barley stifled a gasp at the mutant plant thing that stood before them. She could feel Itachi stiffen and she looked up at his emotionless face. He always has that up when they aren't alone…

"Who is this girl Itachi?"

"I am not obliged to answer Zetsu."he spat venomously.

"Well maybe you will answer to Leader-san…if that's what you want."

Itachi cursed under his breath. Sakura held her breath…a terrified look on her face.

"You will start with this young lady here…"

"She is…" Itachi started, but then stopped. "Breath kunoichi."he whispered.

Sakura resumed quiet breaths. Zetsu's eyes traveled to her enlarged stomach. They widened.

"So it's true then. The infamous Itachi Uchiha finally got knocked up."

Sakura turned and saw Tobi standing right beside her. She screamed, but Itachi covered her mouth.

"She could be useful, ne? I mean, she's carrying a healthy baby no doubt, and this child could come of use." Said Zetsu.

Itachi moved backwards, pushing Sakura behind him.

"No."he said sternly.

Sakura's breath quickened. This wasn't happening. She whimpered in fear at Zetsu's piercing eyes. Itachi looked down at her, and back at Zetsu. Sakura pushed Itachi and made a run for it. Itachi slammed into the wall. He got up and started after her, but Tobi and Zetsu held him back.

Sakura ran through hallways. The exit was just there. If she could just get Deidara and Kisame for help. She turned and let out a blood curdling scream. There stood a holographic image and piercing eyes blocking her path. She felt her legs go numb, and she forced herself to move. Suddenly, an all to familiar pain flooded her lower abdomen.

'Damn it…the poison.'she thought frantically.

The figure took on a physical form and grabbed her by her hair, dragging her back to the group. She cried out as she was thrown onto the floor.

S**T!!!!" cussed Itachi.

"Itachi-kun*sob*" She lay on the floor sobbing heavily.

"Who would've thought that Itachi would get such an ugly wretch pregnant."

Silence. Itachi broke free and ran to Sakura. She froze and looked over at Zetsu. Standing up, screamed and charged. Zetsu barley dodged a punch. Sakura lifted her leg high above the ground in a split, and slammed her heal down with tremendous force. The earth cracked, almost splitting the hallway completely in two. Itachi stood there, and appeared next to her panting body.

"I'm no wretch you disgusting scum. Do not call me names you ugly fly trap."she spat with pure hatred.

Itachi pulled her close to him as an eerie shadow passed before them. Pain walked slowly until he faced them both.

"Explain yourself Itachi."

"Very well." He disappeared. In less than two minutes he appeared with a battered Deidara and a screaming Sephira. The little girl was thrown against the wall and Sakura almost fainted at the site of Deidara coughing up blood. He staggered over to Sephira and blocked her from view. Kisame came into view, a dirty grin on his face. His sword was dripping with blood and clumps of flesh were caught in the pieces.

"Sorry Itachi…but what goes around comes around. You treated me like crap so I ratted you out."

"You will be awarded Kisame. Now, for the rest of you, meet me in the conference room in 5 minutes. We will discuss your fate there."

He disappeared with Zetsu and Tobi behind him. Silence. Sakura fell and crawled over to Sephira and Deidara. Sephira ran over and sobbed on Itachi's leg, while Sakura tended to Deidara's wounds.

"This sucks, un. To think I trusted Kisame for a second, un.*couch hack*"

Sakura sighed and finished up, helping Deidara stand.

"You must leave…"

Sakura turned toward Itachi with frightened eyes.

"W…what?"

"It isn't safe for you to be around anymore…these men are dangerous, my kunoichi."

"But, we have a child on the way, I can't just leave…we…we have to talk to my parents and get married and live happy lives together…Itachi-kun…don't do this…*sniff*"

Itachi's face remained that of a stone and he walked toward her slowly. He backed her to the wall and looked down at her. His stony lips met hers and she looked up into his eyes. The Mangekyou activated and her eyes widened slightly, before everything began to fade.

"I'm sorry, my Kunoichi."

That was the last she heard.

"What happened to her!?"

"Shhh…she'll wake up…we were lucky to find her when we did…"

"She has signs of trauma and abuse…"

"I told you we couldn't leave her with that b*****d."

"Now's not the time."

"What do we do with the girl she was with?"

"Interrogation, she was with her, so she might have something to do with her condition."

"Isn't he a bit to rough for her?"

"Naruto!"

His cerulean eyes looked up at Tsunade, shocked.

"Sakura is now an alliance with a missing ninja, we can't keep looking out for her like we always did. This whole situation is her fault. Whoever this girl is, she needs to be questioned."

"Old woman, you know damn well I won't sit here and watch Sakura suffer. This girl doesn't need to be put through torture. Why don't we just wait till Sakura wakes up?"

"I'm awake."

Sakura's eyes scanned everyone else's. She saw Tsunade, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi in the room. Sephira lay on a couch at the wall. They were in Konoha's hospital.

"Alright Sakura, nice to see you're alright. First, who is this girl?"

"My daughter. She was an experiment from Orochimaru. She was to report back to him after her mission, but she stayed with us."

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"He new where you were this whole time? How did he discover the Akatsuki's whereabouts?"

"I don't know Kakashi-sensei….I do know however that his plans must almost be complete…"

"Sakura-chan, did he hurt you?" asked Naruto.

Sakura's eyes watered slightly.

"No…he did the right thing…I was discovered by the other members and he knocked me out and probably took us away from there."

Sasuke cursed under his breath.

"And you still love him, right?"

"Yes…he means everything to me…he's my child's father, and I love him. He loves me too…" she replied.

Shizune walked in with Tonton trudging after her. She held out some charts.

"The interrogation room is prepared, and Ibiki is ready whenever you are Tsunade-sama." she said.

Sakura sighed and rubbed her swelling stomach. Her pregnancy was beyond obvious now. Tsunade glanced at Sakura, and looked over at the sleeping Sephira. Two anbu appeared next to her, and one of the picked her up.

"What are you doing?! Put her down!!" yelled Sakura.

"She must be interrogated. That way, we can find Orochimaru's whereabouts."

"Tsunade-sama. You know me well enough to know that I'm not stupid!! I asked all these things already!! Here memory was wiped clean!! I examined her and I could tell that this was no accident. Orochimaru knows what he's doing!"

"Ibiki has special talents. He can get the information out."

"With torture!? She's a child!"

"Sasuke wasn't exempt from the interrogation either. Why should she…if I don't do this the council will be on my ass…and…*sniff*"

Tsunade lunged herself at Sakura and embraced her in a tight hug.

"I'm just so glad you're alright Sakura. You've had me worried sick."

"I'm fine Tsunade-sama. Itachi wouldn't hurt me on purpose."

Tsunade moved away and told the anbu to put Sephira down. At that moment she woke up.

"Mommy?"

Sakura looked over.

"I'm right here…"

"Mommy!!" she ran and sobbed on Sakura, clutching at her hospital gown."

"They…they hurt Deidei-kun and…and I don't remember the other stuff…"

"Shhh, it's okay sweetie."

"Tsunade-sama, should I tell Ibiki that the interrogation has been cancelled?"

"Yes Shizune, there's no need for it anymore. Sakura, I take it you don't remember where the hideout is anyways."

"Yeah, I remember the people, but nothing about how to get there it what it looks like. But I'm sure if I saw it again I would remember…"

"Hmmm…"

Ibiki busted into the hospital room with an annoyed look.

"What the hell, why's the interrogation cancelled?"

"There's no need for it anymore."

"There's always a need for it. There are no rules against who gets interrogated. Sasuke had to do it, Sakura has to do it, and so does the freaky looking brat over there."

"Sasuke had a choice, and I had a choice, but SEPHIRA didn't. Leave her out of this…"

Ibiki looked over at Sephira and his eyes widened.

"You look familiar, do you have any siblings?"

"Yes…"

"Do you know the name?"

"Aoi Rokusho…he's my older brother…"

Sakura's eyes widened.

"That was Idate-kun's ex-sensei…"

"Hm…Anbu, bring Aoi Rokusho here from the prison. When naruto defeated him, he was thrown off a cliff. We managed to find him and we've kept him here in Konoha Prison."

The anbu reappeared with a man with short green hair, the exact same hair color as Sephira's. Aoi looked up and his eyes widened.

"Sephira?"

Sephira ran over to him and hugged him.

"BROTHER!!!"

"Explain this situation."

"My mother was poor, and one night while traveling with us, she was attacked by rouge ninja. She was 8 months pregnant at the time. A man I assume to be Orochimaru saved us. The day my sister was born, he reappeared to collect something from us, which we didn't have. He took a picture of me for my sister to remember me by, and disappeared with her. I never saw her again until now."

"Where is your mother now?"

"She killed herself."

"And why did you take your hatred upon those of the Hidden Leaf Village?"

"I despise this village for being so prosperous while many others are suffering. When I hears about the Hokage's powerful sword, I had to get it. I had to have this power, so I wouldn't have to suffer alone anymore, so that people would respect me, SO THAT I COULD BE SOMEBODY!!!!!!"

Sephira was quiet now. She started rubbing her brother's face, and stopped suddenly, making a gagging noise.

"Sephira?" called Aoi.

"W…what's happening to me?"

Sakura jumped out of the bed and ran over to the hurting child.

Sephira's eyes widened. She couldn't breath, and she felt herself going numb.

"Mommy…Aoi…help…me…I want to live…I want to play…with brother…mommy…I love…you…Aoi…mommy…"

Sakura wached in horror as Sephira's eyes started to turn from bright pink to a dull grey.

"Sephira! SEPHIRA!?" Aoi broke free from his chains and clutched the still girl.

"No…you're all I have left…" he looked at her still face, and noticed something in her ear. An earing with writing on it. "An expiration date…she had and expiration date."

Sakura sat unmoving, staring into space. She clutched her hair tugging at it, tears streaming down her face. She let out a bloodcurdling scream, and Naruto ran over and embraced her. The room remained silent, everyone listening to Sakura's screams and Aoi's quiet sob's.


	13. Chapter 13

**For all those kind people who reviewed for the last chapter…MANY THANKIES!!!!!!!!!! I really appreciate it ^_^ I want to thank…**

_**Mayumi Crescent Moon **_**for the helpful comment ^_^ and…**

_**Cecilian and xxxvanstarxxx **_**for 3 reviews in a row ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ **

**Of course…all my faithful reviewers ^_^…**

_**StreetRacerSakura**_

_**Sakuita**_

_**Akatsuki-Hidan **_

**Now, from the bottom of my heart…PLZZZZZZZZZZZ review. Just press that pretty button at the end…you know you want to. ^_^**

Next chappie!!! Enjoy!!! ^_^

"Are you sure…there's…nothing you can do?"

"I've tried everything I could, Sakura. It seems to me that she was just another pawn for Orochimaru's use. He's wicked and cruel…and she had to suffer."

Sakura held back her tears. Aoi cursed silently and turned around. Sakura sighed and walked over to a chair, collapsing into it. She held her head in her hands and stayed there, motionless. Naruto clenched his fist. Sasuke gritted his teeth and mumbled to himself.

"Itachi is causing her more pain than she can bear. If he had left her alone, if he hadn't taken advantage of her…she wouldn't be in this much crap."he muttered.

Sakura looked up at him and glared.

"Or maybe if you had acknowledged me these past few, say like 6 years, things would have been different. But it's okay, Itachi is a much more suitable lover anyways. I love him, and even though we kinda just met, he loves me more than you ever have. So it just all works out in the end."she spat.

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock and fury. Sakura ignored him and looked over at the capsule that held Sephira's still body. It was frozen to preserve it.

'Maybe, when we confront Orochimaru, I can find a way to bring her back.'she thought.

"Sakura, sadly, things are going to have to take place in order to assure you and Konoha's safety."started Tsunade.

Sakura nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"First, you are not allowed to leave the village… ever…until further notice."

"What!?"she screamed.

"Sakura, think about things. Rules are rules. You ran off with an S class criminal, things aren't going to be the same." Tsunade quickly continued before Sakura complained. "Second, you will have an Anbu, Jounin, or a ninja escort at all times. You can't travel anywhere alone. And third, you aren't permitted near Uchiha Itachi again. Your parents agree with this."

Sakura's eyes widened. She grit her teeth, and suddenly and uncontrollable rage filled her body, and she snapped the chair she was sitting on in half. She glanced at Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi. They all had the same expression except for Naruto, meaning they were fine with it. Sakura closed her eyes and smiled.

"Alright, seeming as how this is my village, I guess I have no choice."

Everyone sighed in contempt. They thought she would be angry.

She continued.

"Don't ever treat me as a friend, ally, or person you know. Don't talk to me. Don't try to make me feel at home. Don't you ever regard of me as a friend again. You are all disgusting and cruel, ripping everything I have away from me. But it's okay, because it won't be a one sided treatment. I will never think of you as my comrades again. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Tsunade, everyone in this damn village, I despise every single one of you. If you think I'll be happy here, you're dead wrong. And when my child grows up without their father, I will tell them of the ones who caused them misery."she spat with disgust.

With that, she turned her back on them and walked out, two anbu following her in her tracks.

The group was speechless.

"And everyone thought this would work."said Naruto. He walked out and ran after Sakura.

Sakura walked to her house, ignoring the looks she got. She felt Naruto's presence, and smiled.

"Yes Naruto-kun, I understand. You were forced into this… right? I still love you Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. He looked over at her and took in the sight of her swollen stomach.

"You're getting pretty fat Sakura-chan."

…CONTENT NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN…

Naruto fell in a crumpled bloody heap on the floor, beaten and bruised beyond recognition. Sakura glared and walked away.

'CHA!!!!! WHO THE HELL IS HE CALLING FAT!!!!???'

Sakura stopped at her house door. She sighed and walked in slowly. She smelled food being prepared. Walking further in, she walked into the living room area. Her father was reading the paper. He looked up at her and his eyes widened.

"HONEY!!! SAKURA'S HERE!!!" he yelled.

Sakura's mother ran in and the two looked Sakura up and down, taking in her features.

"Oh Sakura…why?"her mother cried.

Sakura snorted.

"You guys agreed to my punishment?"

"Of course. That man isn't coming near you again."replied her father, glaring at her.

"Then don't you ever think of yourselves as my child's grandparents."she spat with pure hatred, and she calmly walked upstairs to her room. She slammed the door, ignoring the Anbu and threw herself on her bed, sobbing her heart out.

Itachi coughed heavily, clutching his chest. He wiped the blood off his mouth, and glanced at Deidara. The two sat upon his giant clay bird thing. Deidara glanced over at Itachi in concern.

Flashback…

Sakura fainted right after he used Mangekyou on her. She fell back and Itachi looked over at Deidara.

"We don't have much time. I need you to take Sakura and Sephira away from here as quickly as possible. Drop them off near the gates of Konoha, and leave before they notice you."he whispered quickly.

"But what about you, un? Don't give me any sacrifice crap, un."

"I'm going to create a diversion…Tobi will notice your absence the moment you step off the premises."

"Alright…and when I drop them off, I'll come back and grab you, ok, un?"

"Good."

Deidara quickly got his clay bird thing ready and scooped up Sakura and a sobbing Sephira. He took of as fast as he could, disappearing in the clouds.

As Itachi predicted, Madara appeared the moment Deidara left. Thinking quickly, Itachi performed Amaterasu, incircling the two in viscous flames. Madara appeared in front of Itachi with a katana, slashing at him with blinding speeds. Itachi dodged them and went into Sharingan mode, moving faster to keep up. He jumped up and released a shower of shuriken on Madara, only for him to poof away. Itachi cursed under his breath and droped to the ground. Itachi turned around quickly, into the eyes of a high level Tsukyomi. Images of Sakura being slaughtered flooded his mind. He watched as the child was ripped from her womb and thrown onto the ground in a bloody mess. Itachi froze and stared ahead, waking up when an impossible pain clouded his mind.. Madara's katana protruded from Itachi's chest, blood flowing from the wound heavily. Itachi looked over to see Madara walking toward him slowly. Madara charged at the wounded Itachi and pushed him into the flames. Crows shot up from the flames. Madara cursed as he watched Itachi make his escape, dashing through the trees and disappearing. Itachi ran until he couldn't take the pain anymore. He had performed a substitution when Madara looked up to the sky hoping to find Deidara. Itachi collapsed after an hour. Grunting, he closed his eyes, passing out. He woke up when Deidara returned.

End flashback…

"That diversion worked, un, but you got hurt, un."

Itachi nodded. Madara was strong, but he had managed to get away. Itachi slowly took off the cloak and assessed his wound. A 4 ft Katana sat lodged in his chest. Pulling it out would be a challenging task. Itachi grunted as he positioned both his hands on the base of the katana. He slowly started pulling it out, gasping and throwing his head back in pain. He moaned lightly and wiped the blood that was flowing out his mouth. Deidara looked over in horror.

"What are you doing, un? You're going to kill yourself, un. We're about 5 hours from Konoha, un."

Itachi looked up at the sky. He saw birds of all colors fly by, and the sun changed from bright yellow to a dull orange.

"There are a lot of birds in the sky. Lots of different colors."he mumbled.

Deidara glanced at him again. Not good. He was delusional now.

"Damnit, un. Blood loss…"

Itachi looked over at him a gasped as another wave of pain hit him. He swayed, but steadied himself. He took his hands and yanked at the katana, ripping it out of his chest. His blood overflowed and spilled off the bird. Itachi sat still for a moment, a look of shock on his face. The pain that followed slammed into him like a thousand pounds of steel. He made an odd gurgling noise, and fell back, motionless. Deidara's mouth dropped at Itachi's choice of 'medical action'. He quickly found a spot to land and dropped, moving quickly to the motionless Itachi. He checked his pulse. It was uneven. Damn. He jumped of the bird with Itachi in hand, and propped him up against a tree, so he wouldn't drown in his blood. Taking a kunai, he slit down Itachi's mesh shirt, ripping it off. Taking out some bandages, he tightly wrapped them around Itachi's chest. Itachi grunted and opened his eyes. Deidara glared at him.

"Idiot, un. What the hell were you thinking, un!?"

Itachi turned his head and vomited a cup's worth of blood. He motioned weekly toward the katana on the ground. Deidara examined it and grunted. It was poisoned. Itachi gasped and clutched his chest, hunching over in agony. Deidara dropped the kunai in defeat.

"Damn."he mumbled.

Helping Itachi up, the two jumped back on top of the bird. Itachi put the cloak back on, shivering slightly. Feeling his head, he could tell he had a high fever. Thunder rolled in the distance, as they took off again, towards Konoha.

Sakura woke up, a few hours later. She glanced at the clock in her room. It was late. She must have fallen asleep after sobbing her guts out. She looked over and saw two bowls of steaming on her plate. Compliments of Naruto, she figured. Sakura's stomach growled, and she picked up one of the bowls with the chopsticks and dug in, finishing it quickly. Normally, Sakura would be full with half the bowl, but lately, her appetite tripled no thanks to pregnancy. She finished the other one and sat on her bed, glancing at the ever still Anbu standing across from her. She sighed and closed her eyes, falling back on her pillows. She was so tired…and before she could fight the sleep, it overtook her. Inner Sakura smiled. She slowly slipped out of the barriers of Sakura's mind. Standing up, she stretched. Walking, she prepared herself to go through the wall, only to slam into it. The Anbu turned in her direction, and turned back around.

"You heard something?"

"Yeah, but there's no one else in here so…"

Inner Sakura smiled. Concentrating, she slid her hand threw the wall, and took it back out. She could be transparent on will. Good. She ran through the wall and threw Konoha. She dashed as fast as she could. If she didn't hurry, the Anbu would get suspicious of Sakura's deep sleep. Thunder flashed and rain poured heavily. She followed her instincts for about 2 hours. Finally, she saw what she was looking for. Her sweet Itachi. Walking up to him, she gasped at his pale form. He was hurt. Looking over, she saw Deidara in a light sleep. She caressed Itachi's cheek, and gasped when her stirred. He could feel her? His eyes opened slightly, and he moaned.

"Itachi-kun…can you hear me?"

Itachi froze and glanced around. He heard a voice, similar to his angel's, but a bit more husky and rough.

"I'm Sakura's inner body. I'm able to leave her mind when she is unconscious. I need you to listen up, ok."

Itachi nodded. His hands reached up weakly and felt around for her body. He touched something solid but smooth. Slowly, he trailed his hands down her body. Inner Sakura smiled, and brought her hands to his face, planting her lips on his cold ones.

"Are you sick?"

He nodded weakly again. Inner Sakura quickly got up and walked over to Deidara. She touched him and he sat up quickly. She explained herself again. Deidara and Itachi listened closely. She explained Sakura's situation, and they both sighed glumly.

"I can see that Itachi-kun is in desperate need of medical attention. I have a plan that might work, but I need you two to work with me. I'm going to get you two into Konoha, and into Sakura's room. Here's how we'll do it."

Time skip…

Itachi and Deidara nodded in unison. Inner Sakura hugged Itachi, and quickly ran back to the village. She ran back to Konoha, and re-entered Sakura's body. Sakura stirred and got up again.

'ALRIGHT LISTEN UP!!! I've got some news.'

'What now?'

Inner Sakura took this time to explain her abilities to Sakura, and told her about Itachi and the plan. Sakura hid her anticipation to avoid suspicion. Sakura looked at the Anbu, and they stared back, piercing eyes behind the mask.

'I need you to go to sleep in about an hour. Ok? Get some food in the meantime. Itachi and Deidara are worn out and need food.'

'Ok.'

Sakura rose and grabbed some money from a draw, walking out; the Anbu close by. She stopped at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. Walking under the sheet, she took a seat, ignoring the looks.

"Hi. Can I have 5 bowls of ramen. Two pork, two beef, and one miso."she ordered.

"That's a lot Ms. Are you having a party?"

Sakura glared demonically. "Just do it."

Old man ramen flinched and got to work. The Anbu looked at each other suspiciously. After Sakura got her order, she got up. When she got close to an ally, one of the Anbu took the food, and another pushed her up against the ally wall roughly.

"What are you up to?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…now get off me."

'I don't think so. You've been acting weird from the moment you woke up, and now you're ordering all this food."

"You forget that I've got an extra stomach to feed. Now let go of me!"she yelled.

The Anbu released her, and she took the food from the other one. She walked home quickly, ignoring her parents. Walking to her room, she sat on her bed and stared at the ramen. Listening quietly, she heard her parents go to their room. She heard the lights turn off and sighed, faking a yawn.

"I'll eat these tomorrow…"she mumbled, faking her sleepiness.

Walking down the stairs, she placed the ramen on the counter and returned to her room after brushing her teeth.

"Can you leave, I need to change."

The Anbu stepped out quietly and stayed at the door. Sakura moved quickly, finding an oversize T-shirt and large sweats. Those were the only things that still fit her. Climbing into her bed, she performed a sleep jutsu that would knock her out for about an hour and 30 mins.

'Do what you need to do quickly.'

'Right.'

Sakura drifted off to sleep. The Anbu returned and checked if she was sleeping. Inner Sakura made her way out again. Walking up to the Anbu, she knocked them both out simultaneously. She dragged their bodies outside, laying them in the bathroom. Running outside, she ran into a cherry blossom garden. She picked a bunch of them off the trees. Dashing, she appeared at the gates of Konoha. Jumping as far as she could into the air, she released the blossoms. It appeared to be raining cherry blossoms. Deidara looked up at the sky. The signal. Grabbing Itachi, the bird disappeared and he quietly snuck into the village while the guards were occupied. Inner Sakura tied a red ribbon in her hair and appeared in front of Deidara. She was invisible, but he could see the bright ribbon flapping in the wind. He followed her to Sakura's house, sneaking inside. They quickly snuck up to Sakura's room, where Sakura was asleep. Inner Sakura smiled and took off the ribbon. She crawled on the bed and reentered Sakura's mind.

'OI!!! Wake up!!! WAKE UP!!!!!'

'Just a few more minutes…'

'CHICK!!! They're here, the plan worked.'

'Oh…that's great.'

'IT WORKED!!!!!!!??????'

Sakura stirred in her sleep. Suddenly, she sat up quickly and glanced around the room.

Her eyes met with Itachi's, and everything around the two froze. Sakura ran out of bed and into Itachi's arms. He hugged her close to him and she cried clutching to him in desperation.

"I love you to, my kunoichi."

And with that, Itachi's fever took over him, and he collapsed motionless into Sakura's arms.

**REVIEW!!!!!!! **


	14. Chapter 14

_Thx a bunchies for all the reviews friends ^_^ I really appreciate it ^_^ :D _

"Deidara! I need more cold compresses! He has a friggin fever of 105 degrees. What the hell; how is he still alive!?" screamed Sakura.

Itachi lay on her bed sweating and gasping for breath. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was clenching his fist in pain. Deidara ran out and came back with more. Sakura took them and placed one on his forehead.

"Alright. Can you please tell me what happened?"asked Sakura.

"After Itachi knocked you out, un, I took you the nearest I could to Konoha, un. While I took care of that, Itachi did his best against Tobi, un. He managed to get away, with a katana protruding from his chest, un."

Deidara frowned and sat pretzel style, leaning on the wall. Itachi forced his eyes open and looked at Sakura. She slowly peeled off the bandages Deidara had applied to his wound. It looked abnormal.

"Damn it Deidara, it's poisoned. This is horrible."she wailed into her hands, feeling helpless.

Deidara sat back, enraged at himself. He should have tried harder to help him before it got this bad! Getting up, he tried to comfort Sakura.

"You can do this, un. You're an exceptional medic, this is child's play, un….Please don't cry, un…"

Sakura wiped her tears and rubbed her stomach. She breathed in and out, and went to Itachi's side. His lips parted, and his eyes slowly opened, for Sakura to see they were slightly pale.

"Sephira is no longer with us, is she?"

His voice was raspy and parched. Sakura felt numb, and clutched his shaking hand, tears forming. She heard a gasp, and turned around to see Deidara visibly shaking. His head was down, and his fist were clenched. Sakura slowly walked towards him.

"Deidara-kun?"she asked, her voice frail and light with worry. His head whipped back p and he forced a smile.

"I'm going to get some water…un."

And with that he vanished from the room. Sakura could feel his presence in the bathroom. She and Itachi were silent, his agony reaching their hearts. Sephira was the first person Deidara ever cared about, and now she was gone. They both understood his pain. Sakura closed her eyes and walked back over to Itachi. She didn't know what kind of poison was in his body. She felt helpless. He only had about an hour to live at this rate. Itachi looked at her despaired form. He understood what the problem was immediately. He forced himself to sit upwards, and slowly got out of bed. This simple action proved to Sakura just how strong he really was. He slowly walked toward her and wrapped his arms around her rounded form, stroking her hair.

"My Kunoichi, my sweet einjeru(angel)"he whispered.

Sakura leaned into his embrace, closing her eyes. Itachi's pale lips made their way to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses. Sakura surprised him by grabbing his hair and slamming her lips on to his. Itachi's lips licked hers, begging for entrance, which she granted without a second thought. She moaned lightly, and his strong arms picked her up and he sat on the bed, with her in his lap. Their lips never lost contact as he moved back to lean on the bed rest. Suddenly, as soon as their heated session started, it was over as Itachi moaned and slumped, losing consciousness. Sakura leaned into his limp embrace, silent tears making their way down her cheeks. She slowly got up and went to her bedside. She picked up a glass of water and downed it, before running and grabbing a sheet of paper. She also grabbed a pen and scribbled something down. Getting up with slight difficulty, she slowly walked toward the bathroom. She heard a retching sound, and then the toilet flushed.

"Yes…Sakura-kun, what do you need me to do, un?"

"Um…are you alright?"she asked silently.

She heard a grunt, and the faucet was turned on. Then the door opened and Deidara stepped out, his hair and face dripping wet.

"What do you need me to do, un?"

Sakura stood there silent, watching him. His face lost that 'glow' it usually had. His eyes looked dull as well, and all traces of mischief had vanished.

"Deidara-kun? When was the last time you've cried?"she asked suddenly.

Deidara's face wrinkled with confusion. What the hell kinda question was that?

"Um…a very long time, un."

Sakura lunged forward and pulled his head toward her chest. Deidara shivered slightly. Slowly, their bodies lowered onto their knees.

"Sometimes, a good way to deal with pain is letting it all out. I need you to do that for me Deidara-kun. You have so much hurt built up, and there has been no release. I promise you, I'll bring Sephira back to us Deidara…but you need to let it out."

Deidara's eyes were wide. His body convulsed lightly, and his hands grasped at Sakura's oversized shirt. Everything he held in broke out, and he screamed into Sakura's bosom. His broken sobs filled the house, and Sakura almost cried as well. His misery was almost overpowering. Sakura stroked his hair and rocked lightly from side to side. She began humming a familiar tune that her mother used to sing for her when she was little. At this Deidara slowly calmed down, to a silent cry.

"We'll get through this Deidara-kun."

He nodded, and pulled away, drying his tears. Slowly, the two got up. Deidara was silent, and Sakura embraced him.

"What was it you wanted me to do Sakura-chan, un?"

Sakura smiled.

"There is only one person I trust enough right now to help me. Her name is Hinata Hyuga, and this is her address, with a note to her so she'll believe you." She handed him to paper before continuing. "Please go and deliver this to her. You'll have to be extremely quick though. Their Byakugan almost never fails."

Deidara nodded, and with a second glance, he vanished.

Hinata's breath hitched, and her heart pounded. Someone dangerous was in her room. She lay still in her bed. Silently she activated her Byakugan and scanned. She couldn't see them. Now she was worried. This person was very well at disguising themselves. She gathered chakra into her hands. One…two…three! She jumped up, but was forced back down. A muscular hand clamped down on her mouth shrouding her scream, while the other held her hands down. The figure appeared and there was a man a couple years older than her. She wanted to cry. Was he going to rape her?

"Please don't panic, un. I'm here for Sakura-chan, un."

She was silent, but her breathing was rapid.

"I promise not to hurt you, un. Just don't scream, un."

She nodded and let her go. He handed her the note. It read…

_Hinata-chan. This is going to sound crazy, but you're the only one I trust who will help me. The man with you is Deidara, whom I trust with my life. I know he's in the Akatsuki, but we're on good terms. Now, I also know that you know all about the punishment I'm under, and the Anbu who are supposed to be watching me. I took care of them and now Itachi is in my care. The big problem is that he is severely poisoned and on the verge of death. Hinata…what if this was Naruto? I know you'd be desperate to save him. Well so am I. I love this man with all my heart, and I really need your help. Please, Hinata…please help me save him._

Love, Sakura.

Hinata's eyes locked with Deidara's. She got up revealing a sexy see through nightgown. Her arms quickly flew to her chest and she blushed. Deidara forced his gaze upward and looked away.

"M…my medical b..bag is under th…that desk. P…please pass it f…for me."

He got up and grabbed the bag, not turning around. Her heard clothes drop and his face went beet red. In about five minutes, she tapped him on the shoulder, fully dressed.

"M…may I…ask how w…we're getting there?"

He grabbed her hand and the two jumped onto his clay bird. They zoomed through the sky together. Deidara's heart was pounding. That was the first 'full view' he'd ever seen. His eyes strayed to her every couple seconds, and he blushed before staring in the distance. In about 10 minutes they landed on Sakura's roof. The two jumped off and quickly found her open window. Sakura gasped, hardly able to contain the relief she felt. The girls embraced each other with great difficulty, due to Sakura's enlarged stomach.

"Oh Kami Hinata-chan, thank you so much."Sakura gasped out.

Hinata smiled and took a glance at Itachi. Her eyes widened at his condition and she immediately went to work. She activated her Byakugan and scanned his body. She saw thousands of parasites swimming around Itachi's body. She frowned and her face set in determination.

"Sakura, I need you to make an incision at every place I tell you too. As I speak thoudsands of parasites are feeding off his body. You'll need to cut every core."she said.

Deidara's eyes widened at her determination and change of stature. Sakura nodded and grabbed a scalpel from Hinata's bag. She breathed in and out, and tied her hair in place. Hinata pointed out each place and Sakura cut. Itachi moaned and opened his eyes. They were unfocused and dull. He mumbled something and reached for Sakura. His hand grazed her face before it collapsed and he fell back into unconsciousness. Sakura bit back the pain she felt. She never told anyone about the intense pains she felt whenever she overworked herself. Ever since Sephira had forced that concoction down her throat she felt a lot of pain. She refocused her thoughts on Hinata's instructions. After she made the incisions, she abstracted all the parasites from each one. She breathed out a sigh of relief when Itachi's color returned to him. They patched him up. He was breathing much steadier now. Sakura clutched her lower abdomen lightly.

"Sakura-chan…"Deidara gasped out in horror.

All eyes turned to where he was pointing. Her sweats were soaked with blood. Sakura gasped and quickly took off the sweats. Deidara scooped her up and sat her in a chair. Hinata turned to Deidara.

"Please leave."she said.

He quickly left and shut the door. Hinata stripped Sakura's underwear and spread her legs. The bleeding had stopped.

"I think you probably overworked yourself…"Hinata guessed with suspicion. "Did something happen to you while at the Akatsuki base?"she asked with concern.

Sakura quickly lied.

"N…no…I've just been so stressed lately."she said.

Hinata nodded and quickly made a makeshift bed on the floor. Sakura went to the bathroom and cleaned before lying down, and passing out instantly. Hinata looked down at Sakura sadly.

'Kami, Sakura…just what have you gotten yourself into?'she thought.

Just then there was a slight knock at the door. It opened and Deidara peeked in.

"Can I come back in, un? I brought some tea Sakura-chan had, un."

Hinata smiled nervously and nodded, twiddling her thumbs. He walked in quietly and took a quick glance at Sakura before handing Hinata the steaming mug of tea. Their hands touched at the transition, and Hinata accepted it with a deep blush and sipped it, savoring the warmth it provided. It seemed she had a thing for blondes. Just then Itachi stirred and sat up with a gasp. Hinata paled as he scanned the room and saw Sakura's bloodied sweats on the floor. Itachi's face became clouded with rage, and Hinata quickly ran over, pushing him back.

"S…she's a...alright I…Itachi-kun…p…please calm d…down."she pleaded.

Itachi calmed down and leaned back. He looked at his bandages and looked at Hinata.

"Gomen…"he spoke silently.

He closed his eyes and Hinata watched him silently. He got up slowly and calmly walked to the door. He opened it to reveal a startled Mrs. Haruno. She gasped and Itachi pulled her in, shutting the door. She looked around the room with frightened eyes and gasped again, this time with shock.

"Where is your husband?"he asked in a calmly frightening tone.

Mrs. Haruno, looked up and fell into Mangekyou. She answered in a monotone voice.

"He's gone to get more anbu, to capture you and the others."

Hinata and Deidara gasped.

"And how long has it been since he left."

"A half hour, 43 seconds, and counting."she answered.

He released the jutsu, and Mrs. Haruno, overcome with the force, collapsed. He set her down and looked at the others. Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked around. Her face went grim.

"W…we're t…too late."she mumbled.

As she spoke, Anbu surrounded the house. About eight burst into the room they were in, Tsunade and Kakashi included. The two that were knocked out were also with the group. Itachi calmly walked over to Sakura. He knelt down beside her and kissed her forehead, waking her up. She slowly sat up and looked at him, immediately knowing something was wrong. She looked around and felt defeated. Itachi helped her up and pulled her close in a hug, before being yanked away and secured. Sakura screamed as Anbu grabbed her and the others. As she passed, she looked at Tsunade and Kakashi with a glare full of unmatched hatred. No. She was NOT about to let her and Itachi get separated again. The group immediately felt her rise in chakra. She gathered as much strength as she could muster and began to swing punches wildly at her capturer. He let her go and she knocked down at least five before she was hit in the back of her neck. Itachi moved quickly before she fell and caught her. She didn't pass out, she just felt numb. Her father moved and tried to separate the too, but she wrapped her arms around Itachi with a death grip. Sakura's eyesight started to get blurry.

"No…I'll never forgive you Tsunade…she mumbled, before falling limp. ^_^

_Sakura has a 'thing' for being betrayed…but don't worry, she'll prove herself…poor Hinata, she got caught up in the drama too. Deidara seems to have picked up a certain 'interest' in a certain 'female'…hmmmmmm…_


	15. Chapter 15

"_Sakura, why are you crying?"_

_Sakura gasped and quickly dried her tears. _

"_M…Miyoshi."_

"_What happened?" the older pink haired girl demanded._

"_T…the girls. They took the painting I made for Sasuke, and gave it to him. They lied and said it was from them…*sob sob*"_

_Miyoshi stood and looked down at the 8 year old. She had gone through similar things. _

"_Get up."_

_Sakura slowly stood up and sniffled. Miyoshi knelt to eye level with the girl._

"_I'm going to tell you something, and you must promise to never forget it. In this world, the world of the shinobi, you must fight for what you want. Fight for what YOU want to happen. Standing back and crying does nothing but burden others. One day, you will have something that you will fight for. When that time comes, don't you ever give up. You hear me? Even when all the odds are against you, even when the people you trust betray you, even when the most unlikely person becomes your ally, even when all you have is yourself….. don't you ever give up. The worst feeling to have, is regret. Fight for what you believe in, and prove all those people wrong, who underestimated you, who mocked you, who betrayed you. Only then, can you call yourself a true kunoichi."_

_Sakura looked up at the girl, eyes wide with determination, all traces of sadness gone._

"_I…I promise."_

_The next day, Miyoshi Haruno vanished. She was never found, and classified as a missing ninja._

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. What an awkward time to have that dream. She looked around, realizing she was lying on a cot. Itachi and Deidara were nowhere to be seen. There were chakra restraints on her arms and legs. She heard a shuffling and saw Hinata leaning in the corner. There was something over her eyes.

"S…Sakura-chan…are you a-awake?"

Sakura frowned.

"What did they do to you, Hinata-chan?"she asked, venom dripping from her voice.

"This t-takes away my sight, and m-my Byakugan w-won't work either."

"And what about Itachi-kun and Deidara-kun?"

At that moment, she heard a scream of pain, instantly recognizing it as Deidara's. It was bloodcurdling. The girl's bodies went frigid, and Sakura's face was frozen in horror. Sakura slumped, feeling defeated. How was she going to get out of this one?

'_Don't you ever give up…'_

Sakura closed her eyes, and then opened them with determination. She was going to get out of there.

"Hinata-chan…we are going to get out of here. I don't care what the consequences of my rebelliousness is; my child will not grow up without a father. And that's final."

She slowly lifted herself off the bed, and assumed a meditative position. Closing her eyes, she remembered some of her time with Itachi.

**Flashback….**

"_You're emotions dictate to you're opponent what kind of person you are, my kunoichi. You have a strong inner strength, and put up a tough persona. Even with this, many find their way into your heart, and you are hurt easily by betrayal. You are quick to anger, but often you find yourself helping the person who harmed you most…"_

_Sakura stood, shocked at his description of her._ _She listened carefully, and smiled. He showed her how much he really observed and cared for her. Slowly, she walked over to him, and caressed his cheek. _

"_You might not show it, but you are very emotional on the inside. What people see as cruel, you see concern and care. You are misunderstood, and have the strongest state of mind I have ever seen. You can endure what everyone can not: being hated by even the ones you love most…"_

_Itachi stared at her, his eyes wide. Sakura tiptoed and kissed his forehead. _

"_We're going to do this together, Itachi-kun. Now, please help me train."_

_He nodded and suddenly vanished. Sakura gasped and stood straight, putting on her gloves. She dodged to the side as Itachi spun downwards, just in time. He regained balance the moment he hit the ground as Sakura fist came flying towards him. He moved to the side and aimed a kick at her head which she blocked easily.---_

**End Flashback…**

Sakura stopped suddenly. Someone was coming. She stood up quickly and braced to fight.

"Be brave, Hinata-chan."she whispered.

A guard walked up to their cell and stood, peering inside. He smirked and performed hand signs, before pushing his palm outward. A wave of dark energy shot out and hit Sakura's shocked body.

She stood still, and then threw her head back, letting out a scream of agony. She clutched her lower abdomen and cried out. Looking toward Hinata, she realized that she couldn't move.

"Sakura-chan!"she cried out, and tried to move but was unsuccessful.

"Did you honestly think you could stop Orochimaru from achieving his goal, Sakura?"

Sakura couldn't hear him. She convulsed on the floor. A dark gunk seeped from between her legs as she howled in pain. This wasn't happening! Not to her.

She cured into a fetal position and sobbed, the pain unbearable.

"My baby, my baby, my baby, my baby…"she mumbled.

Dark markings engraved themselves on Sakura's arm. Sakura peeked and gasped.

'A curse mark!' she thought.

"W…why Kabuto…"she gasped out.

"Oh, you figured out it was me…was it that obvious?"

"Tell…me…why…"

"Sakura , Sakura, Sakura. I thought you were smarter than this. Lord Orochimaru's plan was to be successful from the moment it was thought of. Failure is nothing but an afterthought. Every setback makes a bigger success in the future. You're bastard child is his."

Sakura flinced as the pain rolled in like waves throughout her body.

'Inner, can you help me?' she thought, no, pleaded desperately.

'_**No, she can't, AHAHAHA!!!'**_

'Who are you?'

'**Demise, torment, agony, those are a few of my many names. I am the curse mark, my dear, you're second counterpart. Nice to meet you.'**

Sakura's frown deepened. The pain was almost gone now.

'Where is inner?'

'**I took care of that bitch. She's gone now. It was pathetic, really. She didn't give up though, if that makes you feel better, AHAHAHA!!!!'**

Sakura caught a glimpse of her 'counterpart' then. She had a slight purple tint to her, and her eyes were a blood red. Her hair was long, and her green was cynical. She stuck her tongue out and howled with laughter. It was vulgar and crude.

"Come, Sakura, it's time for us to depart."said Kabuto.

"What!? What about the attack, the battle, the-

"Orochimaru is no idiot. He told me to pick up the package early, while the members of Konoha were against eachother."

He smirked, and Sakura's face turned to one of horror. Tears came, but she blinked them away.

'I won't cry.'

Anti-Sakura took over Sakura's body without warning and bent the cell bars, stepping out.

"**What about stutter over there?"she asked.**

"Leave her. She has no use."

"**Once we pump the brat outta me, do I get to keep her body?"**

"Orochimaru is a man of his word. He keeps his promises. We'll have no use of her after the procedure."

"**What's the procedure anyways, huh? I aint interested if it takes long…cuz I aint patient."**

"Don't worry about it. We need to leave while the genjutsu is in effect and Itachi is unconscious, because if he wakes up…"

"**Let's go."**

(^$%$(&^)*(_*&&_*&^*^&%%^$*&)(*_*&(_*&^*^)^*^&*%^$^#&*%&*)&^*()*^(

The moment Itachi opened his eyes, he knew something was amiss. Shifting slowly, he looked and saw Deidara unconscious in one corner. Ibiki grabbed a fistful of Itachi's hair and forced him to look upwards.

"So you're finally awake, huh? You're gonna talk whether you like it or not and---

"We are in a genjutsu. Disable it now." Itachi commanded.

Ibiki's eyes widened and he disabled it immediately. It seemed as if nothing happened.

"Think you're funny huh—

Itachi's eyes were wide. The restraints on his wrist shattered and he vanished, reappearing in Sakura's cell. Hinata lay still as a statue. He wripped the restraint from her eyes and she awoke from her daze. She traced Itachi's enraged face with her hand and nodded, confirming his fears. His chakra spiked dangerously and within moments the anbu that arrived were dead. Itachi moved faster than the speed of sound, and before long the halls of the prison were littered with bodies and the foul stench of blood. Tsunade appeared and immediately gathered chakra, only to be caught in a chokehold. She gasped and she was slammed into the wall and looked into the eyes of death itself. Anbu surrounded Itachi but he paid them no mind.

"Sakura. Is. Gone."he said slowly, as if she were to stupid to comprehend.

"Orochimaru?"she gasped out.

"Who else."

Tsunade remained quiet as she stood still, not bothering to fight his chokehold. There was no point. Itachi slowly released her and stood rigid, daring the anbu to attack him.

"How?"she asked.

"Most likely, Kabuto disguised himself as a guard, and took her from there. Genjutsu was used to keep you at bay…"

"But…damnit."

Itachi breathed deeply.

"This changes everything. There was never going to be an attack. He knew what to do from the beginning. Right now, instead of fighting each other, we need to band together to bring Sakura home…"

Itachi nodded and vanished, reappearing by the unconscious Deidara. Tsunade called for Shizune, who appeared almost instantly. She assessed the situation and froze.

"Get me the rookie nine. It's an emergency."

"H…hai."

(&^$%^&$(^()*()(%&^$%^(^&$^#*%^$&*(^&%&(%&(%%^$%&#^%*T$^&$*^&$*

Sakura shivered as Orochimaru's tongue traveled from her cheek to right above her cleavage.

"Thought you could essscape did you?"he asked.

Sakura held her tongue. No need to be hostile in enemy territory. Orochimaru strapped Sakura to a table and stepped back. Kabuto smiled and performed a series of hand signs, before pressing his palm against Sakura's belly. She gasped as her stomach grew in size.

"Oh Kami…"

"Since time isn't on our side, Orochimaru perfected a jutsu that speeds up the process. You are now give or take near the end of your eighth month. Your due date should range within a week or so, but don't worry, until then, you will be accompanied by our five star hospitality." Kabuto said, his tone filled with obvious mockery.

Orochimaru smiled before leaving.

"Have fun, Kabuto."

The door closed, and Sakura was left alone with him.

"You know Sakura, they say sex is the best when you're pregnant."

Sakura froze. Kabuto laughed before mounting on top of her incapacitated body. Her enlarged womb made it a bit difficult. Sakura whimpered as he planted savage kisses down her neck.

"What are you doing."she whispered.

"By now I'm sure my intentions are quite clear, Sakura-chan."

She could feel him against her leg and she screamed. He was ruthless, tearing at her clothing and ripping her undergarments off. Her screams only satisfied him more. But the penetration was much worse.

"Shhh, Sakura, just let it happen…just let it happen…"

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I know this chapter is painfully short, but I was pressed for time and my parents were up my but wondering what I was doing. I promise you the next chapter will be much better. I know I take forever to update and I truly am sorry…read my profile for a proper explanation please…

I hope you enjoyed this chapter…even though I know it sucked… :(

Please review…I could use some encouragement…


	16. Chapter 16

_People joke about certain things in life that aren't meant to be joked about. Things like rape. The feeling of a man you hate ravaging you over and over again is not something to be laughed at. _

_The feeling of him penetrating your very core, desperately trying to imagine it's the man you love to ease the pain._

_Itachi…_

_The feeling of his chapped lips sucking at your skin, feeling like he's trying to rip you apart._

_Itachi never hurt me like this…_

_The roughness and disregard he treats your body like, the way he fondles and squeezes your breast._

_Itachi…_

_The way you feel when he makes you satisfy him in ways I can't describe._

_I can't get the taste out of my mouth._

_Itachi would never ask for this…_

_The feeling of despair and disgust you feel when it's over, and that mocking laugh…over, and over, and over._

_Itachi…_

_please…_

_help me…_

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Tsunade sat still in her office, the feeling of dread almost overpowering. Across from her was Itachi, standing menacingly near a corner, his blood red eyes glinting. He was panting hardly, as if losing control of an inner demon. She could feel his need to kill. Tsunade beckoned him over and he stalked toward her, very slowly. It was intimidating. She grabbed two chairs and they sat across from each other. Then she grabbed his head and pressed their foreheads together.

"Look at me."she said quietly. No need to be hostile when he's like this.

He locked his gaze with her own. She could feel him shaking with anger, trying to control himself.

"Breathe…"

He obliged.

"Again."

He obliged.

She breathed at a calm pace with him, trying to help him calm down. It surprised her that he even listened. He had every right to hate her. The two breathed in and out together, and that was the way the rookie 9 found them.

"What the hell is this?"asked Sasuke.

"Ignore them and keep breathing."

Shikamaru stepped up.

"Where is Sakura?" he asked.

Itachi saw red. Tsundae quickly grabbed him before he freaked again and the two toppled to the floor. She put both hands on his head and forced him to look at her.

"Breathe, Itachi…Deidara, if you could help me."

Deidara chose that time to reveal himself at that moment and grabbed Itachi, holding him as Tsunade had asked. Tsunade stood and sighed, before explaining the situation.

"Sakura has been kidnapped by Kabuto."

Shocked and worried gasps filled the room. Naruto spazzed.

"How the hell did that happen!? Wasn't she being guarded by Anbu at her house!?"

"She snuck Itachi and Deidara into the village, and Hinata was involved as well. They were taken to the maximum security prison and held in custody, where Kabuto managed to get his way in and get her out. We don't have much time. You're mission is to rescue her, and her child. Meet me at the gate in an hour. Dismissed."

"Hai!"

All left but Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto glared at Deidara. Sasuke at Itachi.

"You're that thing that hurt Gaara…"said Naruto, his anger reaching its peak.

"Now's not the time numbnuts…do you want your friend back or not. Because she's my friend too, and you sure as hell won't find her without my help."replied Deidara.

Naruto didn't say anything. Sasuke cursed silently. Kakashi suddenly appeared with Sai beside him.

"Fix your face, dickless, Sakura is strong, she'll pull through."

Naruto's frown deepened. Sasuke stood in a staring contest with his brother, who looked away. Naruto looked at Itachi.

"I thought you said you would protect her."he whispered.

Itachi's eyes met his downcast ones, and his sharingan brightened and began spinning wildly. The killer intent filled the room and the occupants felt dizzy for a few seconds.

"I will get her back Naruto-kun."

Naruto believed him.

"All right, since this is settled, Kakashi, you will be the captain of this mission. Itachi, Deidara, I will provide you with a change of clothes, which will be the Anbu uniform. I will not, however, give you a new headband."

They nodded.

"Are you telling me you trust these murderers to work with us…"said Sasuke, through gritted teeth.

"They trusted you when you came crawling back to Konoha…"said Sai.

The two glared at eachother.

Shizune arrived with the uniforms then, and the tension subsided. She handed one to each of them and an odd silence filled the room.

"Itachi, Deidara, I trust that you will work with us and be extremely cooperative throughout the operation?"

"Tch, do we have a choice, yeah?"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

"Nope."

"Kakashi, we will work with you but I ask that you control the sad attempt of intimidation you're fellow ninja will direct at me. I am not in as much control as I normally am, therefore, if something happens…"

Itachi chose to trail off there.

"I understand, Itachi."

"Good. I'm looking forward to see how you've improved, brother, Kyubi."

And with that he vanished into the next room, leaving them startled. A moment later he returned fully clothed. He secured his scrathed out headband before signaling for Deidara to change as well.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you have 45 minutes to prepare yourselves, and to meet s at the gate."warned Tsunade.

They left. Tsunade turned to Itachi and Deidara, who just appeared.

It was then Itachi remembered.

"What about Sakura's Hyuga friend?"

"She is being treated as we speak and should be able to participate. Thanks for your concern."

Deidara looked at her.

"What happened to her, yeah?"

Tsunade ignored him. He frowned.

"Here is some money, purchase your necessities for the mission, and please wear your masks, we don't want the village in a panic."

They nodded before vanishing. Kakashi and Sai looked at her before leaving her to sink to the ground. She looked at her sake and wasn't surprised she had no appetite for it.

"Everything will be alright, Tsunade-chan."Shizune reassured.

"So I pray…"

&*%^(&%(*%&*^*(^_&(*&+(&*(&()*^%&%&^$^*()%&$*^%$&^(&^)&_(*&)*(%&^$^%&%&^*()*(_&(*^)*&)%^#$&*^%*&)(*_)&(^&$%#$*^%&(^*(&)_(&*(^&$^$&^(^&()&)_&*)_^()^&*%&$&^$&^^*)&^(*&^_(*^*($&^$&^$*^%(*)*(^)^

Ino rearranged the flowers in her shop. Ever since the incident with Itachi, she was deemed unstable and was forbidden to do anything ninja related for a certain amount of time. She sighed. To put it frankly, she was bored. Looking outside, she spotted to Anbu walking past her shop. Gasping, she rushed outside and grabbed the dark haired ones arm.

"Please allow me the pleasure of speaking to you, Itachi."

He said nothing, and the three were teleported back into her shop. Once there, Ino huffed and stepped back, her sharp blue eyes appraising his form.

"So it's true. You are working with us…"

"Obviously idiot, think we're in walkin around Konoha for our health, yeah?"

"I was talking to the Uchiha…"

"Well now I'm talkin to you, un…"

Deidara removed his mask and the two witty blondes glared at each other. Itachi stepped, forward, stopping the conflict from progressing any further.

"You wanted to speak to me, kunoichi? Well now is your chance."he said icily.

She glared at him.

"You must assume I am a patient man, kunoichi. Do not make that fatal mistake…"

"So you really do love her huh? Well Sakura, you sure do pickem…."she laughed to herself before continuing. "Always liked the dark brooding type."

Her eyes welled with tears, and she sank to her knees, clutching her arms. She stared at Itachi.

"You have to find her."she sobbed. "I hurt her so bad Itachi, and now I realized what I did was wrong, and she hates me, but I can't lose her…I just can't. You have to find her…promise me you'll find her!"

She was sobbing heavily now, and she stared desperately at Itachi for his answer. He knelt down before her, and moved the bang from her face.

"I will return her to Konoha, kunoichi."

She looked into his eyes.

"Please tell her I'm sorry…"

"You'll do it yourself. Once you wake up, quickly prepare yourself and meet us at the gate. The mental bind I've put on you is now released."

His eyes flashed and Ino fell limp. He gently placed her on the ground and stood, facing Deidara.

"Come, we need to purchase weapons and soldier pills."he said, and they were off.

Sakura sat on the dingy bed in her the room provided for her. There was a bathroom to the right, a desk and lamp on the left. Stale bread was placed there beside a cup of water she wouldn't dare drink. She learned the first time that it was drugged, and paid dearly for it.

"What's the point of you being here imposter?"

"**You talking to me?"**

"Who else?"

"**Still got spunk huh? Well I'm here to bring you to the brink of isanity basically. If ya can't function right it's easier to rip the brats from ya…pretty good plan huh?"**

"When inner wakes up-

"**What are you, stuck on stupid!? That chick aint gonna come back. Now shut your prissy little butt up."**

"Tch, you might invade my mind, but you do NOT call the shots. This isn't your body yet."

Sudden images of Kabuto's treatment to her flooded her mind and she gasped.

"**That'll teach ya. Now hush."**

Sakura grit her teeth and chose not to say anything. She couldn't handle those memories. Not yet…

$%(&%(&%^)&*%&*%($&^$*($^&$&(&^%^&*(%)&^*)&^(_&^*(_&*(_&(*^^&%)&%^*)^)*^_(*&^_(**^_(*^*(_^(*^(*^_*^_(*^(_^(_^*(_^*(_*^(_*^_*(*^_(*^*(_^_(*

Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai stood by the gates in one group. Beside them was Shikamaru and Choji. Then came Neji, Tenten, and Lee. Lastly, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata stood.

"Kakashi, what are we waiting for?"asked an increasingly impatient Kiba asked. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Here they come."Kakashi replied.

Deidara and Itachi appeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms, something Itachi picked up from Sakura.

"WTF!!!???"screamed Kiba.

The rest just stared.

"Are we supposed to trust these…things, Kakashi?"asked Neji, his glare fixated on Itachi.

"Do you remember our previous conversation, Kakashi?"asked Itachi, his blank stare lingering on Neji.

Kakashi quickly spoke up.

"Tsunade has deemed me in charge of this mission, therefore, as I say goes. We will work with the…ex Akatsuki…I presume?"

They nodded.

"Right, we will work with our new comerades without question, because we are all striving for the same goal. To rescue Sakura. Am I understood?"

"HAI!!!"

They all jumped up to leave, but Itachi remained still. They halted.

"Is something wrong."

"WAAAAIIIIITTT!!!!!"

All eyes turned to Ino as she ran as fast as she could into Itachi's still staggered from the impact as she hugged him with all her might.

"Thank you so much, Itachi…I owe you one."she said, her voice muffled by his chest.

He simply pat her head in reply. Ino stepped back and looked at the wide eyed group.

"Well what are we waiting for, losers…LETS KICK THAT SNAKE'S ASS!!!!"

They all nodded and jumped over the gates and into the dense Konoha forest. Hinata and Ino stayed behind with Itachi and Deidara.

"How can Hinata be so trusting?"mumbled Kiba.

"WE don't know the whole story Kiba, let her do as she pleases."replied Shino.

Neji glared at Hinata.

".…"

"Being friendly, Neji. I wanna talk to them too. If Sakura can trust him, so can I."replied Tenten, and she fell back in step with Itachi and company. She laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder for a split second. His Sharingan gaze met hers.

"Everything will work out Itachi."she said, and smiled at him before returning to her place in between Neji and Lee.

"I will make sure of it."

"When Itachi gets here, you will regret this, Kabuto."she moaned as he fondled her breast.

"I have to admit, Sakura, you are a hard girl to break. The chakra restraints I put on you are having a hard time. But I assure you, every toy gets broken."he mumbled into her ear.

Sakura had a surge of rage and delivered a swift kick to his groin. He doubled over in agony, before delivering a hard slap to her cheek. Her head snapped to the side as she fell back into the wall.

"You stubborn wretch…just give in."he snarled.

"My love will get here soon, and when he does, he will make you suffer. But he won't deliver the finishing blow. With this dainty fist of mine, I will crack that big head of yours with one hit, and your blood will splatter within the very walls you ravaged me in. I will make sure of it…"

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There you have it. The next chapter. And good news, I spoke to my dad about it, and I am finally aloud back on here. That will make things sooooooooo much easier, so if my lazy ass gets back in gear, updates will be faster. YAY ME!!! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this. **PLZZZZZZZ REVIEW!!!!!! **^_^


	17. Chapter 17

**PLEASE READ THIS!!! Now, I don't want to sound rude or ungrateful, but there is nothing more aggravating than getting more story alerts and favorites than reviews. If you really love this story enough to add it to your favorites than please tell me why…I'm begging you. There's nothing more encouraging than a review…now if you flame me I WILL curse you to hell and back but other than that some feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you ^_^ Now, onto the story ^_^**

Itachi stood at the edge of a cliff. The group had set up camp a while back and he had wandered off, deep in thought. He stared at the fast amount of trees below the cliff and beyond, entranced by the sunset's beauty and the effect it gave the environment. It had rained a while back, and he inhaled the fresh scent of wet grassland and savored the light feeling it gave him. The heat the sun pressed into the earth cause a light mist to rise, not enough to cover the scenery, but just enough to leave that light dampness on his body he liked. It made him slightly lightheaded, the comfort. Just like he felt when Sakura kissed him.

She would have loved this.

He felt a presence behind him, and he stiffened. From the stance, they meant no harm. Their heartbeat was rapid in a nervous way, but not enough to signal an attack.

"I wish to speak with you Uchiha-san."

That voice. It couldn't be.

He turned around and stared. She looked just like her…

*)&*(^%*(%&*)%&*^%*^(%&*^)*&^%*)$^%*^&*^)^*)^%*)^)*&%*)&%&*$%&($(^$

Sakura lay gasping on the floor. Everywhere hurt. The chakra bands she wore restricted her to less than a quarter of her chakra. Just enough to heal but nothing else.

"Damn him."she whispered as the healing glow circulated her body. She needed to get out of here.

'If what he says is true, than I have less than a week to escape before my due date.'she thought.

"**To bad darling…that aint gonna happen while I'm still here. I'm surprised you still got the will to live after what I've been doin to ya."**

"You will never break my spirit, demon. Miyoshi taught me better than that."

'**Who's 'Miyoshi'?'**

"Someone who hasn't been in my life for years but still gives me the will to live. Funny how something non-existent has a better impact than you."

"**Don't get cocky wretch. Give me a day or two and I'll have you on a leash."**

"Try it."

The demon had nothing to say after that, and Sakura smirked as she stood up. Kabuto was back. He walked in with a trey of questionable food. He frowned at the look on her face.

"You have to be the most difficult task yet, Sakura. You just won't crack. But I'll break you."

"Wow, what a coincidence. Some loud vulgar voice in my head told me that a moment ago."she replied.

His frown deepened, before a smirk arose. Sakura's smirk faltered.

"That's good then. So we'll break you from the inside out. Me with the task of your voluptuous body, and the mark with your fragile little mind."he sneered.

Sakura smiled brightly, much to Kabuto's annoyance.

"If Sasuke couldn't break my spirit, you don't stand a chance."

Kabuto tsked before storming out, dropping the food on the way. He slammed the door. Sakura looked at the food, before sighing and checking for poison. Sensing none, she ate to her content, before settling herself on the bed. She fell asleep almost instantly.

She dreamed of Itachi.

*%&^%*(%*)^&*)^&*_&*^*)$%*^($%^*%*&)^(_*^^*(_*_^(%&*%)*$^&(%^(&*^*)

"What, surprised to see me after all this time?"

"You look like her."he replied.

"I always have."

He said nothing.

"Surely you must have more to say to me than this."

"Get to the point, Miyoshi."

She smiled, just like Sakura.

"As you wish."

*(^%*(&%^*(^*)&^&^)_*^_&^*&%&($&^%*&)%^&*^)*^_^(*^_*&_(*^%^(^&*_(_&(

"He's taking a long time."said Neji, slightly suspicious.

"Maybe his royal Uchiha-ness had to take a dump. Bout time he got that stuff out his ass."laughed Kiba.

"I…I think he j…just needs some time alone."whispered Hinata.

"Why side with HIM all of a sudden, huh? You got the hots for him or what?"

Hinata blushed. Not for him, but maybe-

"Oh shutup Kiba. You're just jealous you're not there with him."said Ino.

"Wh…wha!?"

"Yea I said it."

The group laughed at that, and Hinata let out a breath of relief. She glanced at Deidara, who appeared to be in a deep argument with Sai. She glanced at Shino curiously.

"They are discussing the philosophies of art."

She nodded and got back to her task of gathering fresh herbs. They would probably need them in the future.

)&^&(^^)(&*)&(_&(&+_(&+&&*^*(^&*%)*%^*)$^&)%)^*_^_*(_^(^_(*^_(&^&(%&*)%

"Why are you here?"he snarled.

"Remember when we first met?"

Of course. How could he forget? He had just returned from an anbu mission.

_Thirteen year old Itachi snuck around the village, headed back to his home. He preferred to return home from missions undetected. Usually he teleported but today he felt like observing the village. He walked to a small clearing where he saw a genin team training. Only one stood out to him though. It was a girl with long pink hair. She had green eyes as well. He watched as she stumbled and fell in a very ungrateful fashion. _

"_Pathetic."he whispered._

_She froze and grit her teeth. _

"_Say it to my face."_

_Her teammates stared at her in confusion. Itachi's eyes widened. She heard him? Not one to refuse a challenge of such blatant disrespect, he stepped out of the shadows. _

"_Miyoshi, don't pick a fight you can't win."warneed her sensei._

"_The point of being a ninja is being able to do so without fear, sensei. Now, Anbu-san. Say it to my face."_

"_As you wish. I merely stated that your lack of skill and composure is pathetic."_

"_Yeah, well so what. I'm still learning and I'm not afraid to make mistakes."_

"_Such mistakes may cost you your life, or one of your teammates. Unacceptable."_

"_Well that's not gonna happen."_

"_So you have a sixth sense now? Amusing."_

"_Funny, cuz with the way you're acting I wouldn't think you knew what humor was."_

"_Diarrhea of the mouth is your specialty it seems."_

_Miyoshi gasped before making a fist and charging toward him. He caught her fist with one hand and held a kunai at the other. She froze._

"_A poor attempt at wounding me, kunoichi."_

_To his surprise, she kneed him in a neither region. He doubled over and she moved into the next attack, but he dropped and rolled out of the way. She stumbled again and he jumped onto her, pining her down in a rather inappropriate position. She blushed as he breathed hard due to her previous blow. Gathering some wit, she spoke._

"_At least I have the element of surprise."_

"_Indeed."_

_He got off her and helped her up before dusting himself off. Nodding at her surprised comrades, he vanished. _

"_I sure showed him."_

_)*^%(&*%^()&*%($^&&%(&*%^)*&^*)^)&*^*)&^)_*&^*)&%)*&%)&*%&*%)&%)*$^&_

_Later that evening, Itachi walked into his favorite clearing to meditate, only to find it occupied. The girl from before stood at the edge, arms spread wide. She was breathing hard._

"_What are you doing kunoichi?"_

_She gasped, startled. Recognition crossed her face and she frowned._

"_Oh, it's you."_

_Itachi frowned. How did she know. He masked everything._

"_I'm good like that."she muttered._

_He nodded before watching her. She spread her arms again._

"_A genin of your level won't be able to survive that drop."he calmly stated._

"_I do this all the time."_

"_Impossible."_

"_Watch me."_

_And she dropped backwards off the cliff. Before Itachi could think, he found himself juping after her, of nothing else thant to save her. She smiled at him before making multiple handsigns. A flurry of black pedals landed in a straight path across the sky. She landed on it gracefully. Itachi fell in an undignified heap onto the pedaled path after her. He was in shock._

"_You lied about your strength…"_

"_Element of surprise."she replied._

_He nodded before standing up._

"_People couldn't except it if I revealed my true self."_

_He said nothing. Activating his sharingan, he surveyed the area. It was a strange chakra._

"_What are you?he asked._

"_I don't know, but this happens every once a 100 years in my clan. None of it is on record because the story is passed down verbally. All Haruno's like I have have been slaughtered. Typical witchcraft legend."_

"_Your parents?"he inquired._

"_Have no idea."_

"_Then why tell me. I am a loyal Konoha shinobi."_

"_I trust you. I'm sure you have your secrets."_

_He said nothing. She grabbed his hand, and pulled him along the path._

"_C'mon, since you're here, take a walk with me."_

_He followed. They asked each other questions about their lives and such. The normally stoic Uchiha found himself a tad bit talkative that evening. _

"_I have a younger sister named Sakura. She looks a lot like me."_

"_As I have a brother. Very naïve."_

"_He's a kid."_

"_As am I."_

"_You're that prodigy, aren't you?"_

"_Hai."_

"_Hmmm...I plan to make anbu as well. Maybe we'll be on the same squad."_

"_Maybe."_

_He couldn't tell her of the plans he'd been informed of. Not yet. She'd probably report. If he were her, he'd do everything to stop the slaughter of a clan._

"_Watcha thinking about?"_

"_My brother."_

"_Awww…"_

_He smirked before pulling his hand from hers._

"_It is late, and I'm sure that your guardians are concerened._

"_Yah well, they like Sakura better. Who could blame them, I mean look at me."_

_They stood back on the edge of the clearing. Itachi saw her tears before she vanished, leaving him momentarily stunned. He headed home as well._

_*(^%*^%*^$(^$(^%&^&(%^&%(^(%(&)&%)^$(&^$(^%(&*%)%&)%&^$*^#*&^$*%^_

"_You've really got to stop watching me at practice."she stated on their third week together._

"_I find it amusing how you hide your talents so well that your sensei doesn't suspect it."_

"_I've had to do this since I was five."_

"_Ah."_

_A long silence made it's way between them, both their thoughts elsewhere._

"_Itachi, do you think I'm pretty?"_

_Where the hell did that come from?_

"_Um…"_

"_Cuz I don't think so. I mean, look at me. My pink hair is always nasty looking, my face masculine, my eyes are the most retarded color…"_

_Itachi was out of his element this time._

"_My boobs are big, all the girls have a reasonable sized chest and mine just happens to be abnormal."_

_He blushed., before choosing his words carefully._

"_On the contrary, I think you have a rare beauty. Pink hair is an odd but luscious color, many of whom should be jealous. It compliments your eyes, making them brighter and more…enticing. Your bust fits your figure, and I find it just the right size for you."_

_They were both blushing at this point._

"_You're so sweet."_

_And with that, she crushed her lips onto his. Itachi's mind was a blur and he moved his tongue with hers, his fingers raking through her hair. Her hands trailed down his chest and he gasped lightly. This was his first kiss. It was hers as well. She just did what she read in books or saw in movies. He lay back as she settled on top of him. His hands made their way down to her hips and she moaned lightly. All reason flew out of him as he flipped them over and kissed her with a passion that was unknown to him. Suddenly, she pushed him off, her face a deep red. His eyes bled out of sharingan and they gazed at eachother._

"_Damn."she mumbled._

"_Indeed."he replied._

_They fixed themselves up and stared._

"_Did that mean anything to you?"_

_He raked his mind for an answer._

"_Yes."_

"_Same."she replied. And their lips found their ways to each other's again._

_&^&*)^)*&*(_^_&*(^()&%)&^)*_&_*(&_(&%&*%)$^(&$^&$(&^#^&%(&%)&^&^)&^)^*_

"_Where have you been, Itachi?"_

"_I was…occupied…"he mumbled._

_Fugaku stared on. That was the first time his son seemed flustered. He glared before leaving. Itachi quickly walked to his room, but not before catching Mikoto's smirk._

_*&%*^%&^$(&^%^&%&*%&*(%*%&)%&)%&%)%)&*%&%)*&%&*%%&*%%&)&*%)%_

"_Please, Itachi, please tell me you're lying…"_

"_I am not."he whispered._

_Her eyes welled with tears. _

"_How could Konoha ask for you to do something like this!? And how could you not tell me!? When did you think would be the right time? After you murdered innocent Uchiha!!!???"_

"_No Uchiha is innocent but my brother."_

"_That's a damn lie, and you know it. What about the children? The babies?"_

"_They must perish."_

_She gasped before slapping him._

"_How could you say that?"_

_He angrily grabbed her wrists, holding her still._

"_Do you think I want to do this? I love my mother, so much I can't describe it, and even my bastard father holds a place in my heart. The children, I watch them play every day. I wake up to the sound of their laughter, and it calms me. The old lady who always saves a dango stick for me, the little girl who always gives me flowers, the newborn who always wails but is calmed by my presence, they're all apart of me, Miyoshi. I love them so much I can't even fathom what it would be like to lose them. But it must be done, if for no reason than to save my brother from the corrupt ways of my clan, or Konoha will perish!" _

_She was stunned to silence. He released her and she stared into his downcast eyes. She caressed his cheek and kissed him softly._

"_When does the first murder take place?"_

"_Two days from now."_

_She sighed._

" _Meet me here tomorrow."_

_She vanished, leaving him to wallow in his guilt._

_^%(&%^(^%(^%%^)*&*^)&*)^*_^&%*&)%&*^)&*^_(*&^(_^*^*_$%&*)$*&*%&*%^_

_When he came to the clearing, she looked different. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she had a large backpack with her. They stared at eachother._

"_You're leaving."_

"_Yes."_

"_Why?"_

"_I can't stand to live in a village with such corrupt morals."_

_Good. So she didn't blame him. She held out her headband._

"_Scratch it out for me?"_

"_As you wish."_

_He took out a kunai and slowly drew a line across._

"_Thank you."_

_They kissed one last time, and she vanished from his life forever._


	18. Chapter 18

The tension in the air was thick as both stood motionless. After all these years, they were in each other's presence once again. But the circumstances were different this time. Much, much, different.

Itachi blinked, awakening from his daze. His gaze hardened, and he clenched his fist. Miyoshi took a step back.

"Do you know the pain you caused me when you left?"

Miyoshi frowned.

"I was borderline insanity when it was over, Miyoshi. Do you know how hard I searched for you that night, so you could wrap me in your arms, so you could catch my tears?"

**FLASHBACK…**

_Itachi held his katana in his hand, clenching it tightly. Cold sweat poured down his face as he watched the bustling Uchiha Manor start to settle down. Various smells reached him, and he could tell dinner was being prepared. His thoughts lingered on Miyoshi. How was she? Was she safe? No matter, she left, and he should focus on the task at hand. A young boy of about 10 looked up and spotted him._

_It was time._

_In a moment, a deep gash slit clean through his throat and the boy dropped in surprise. He flinhed. That boy looked so much like his brother. A woman screamed for only a second before she too, dropped, convulsing on the ground. By now the streets were in a panic. Civilian parents grabbed their children and ran, while shinobi brandished weapons. Itachi breathed hard as he killed them one by one. In no time, the streets were littered with Uchiha blood, the blood of the hypocrites, the innocent, and a few of the loved. He closed his eyes and listened for movement. He heard and dashed into homes, destroying families in moments. In the 18__th__ house he killed a man, and was about to leave when he heard a whimpering in the last room. Walking in, he saw her. The girl who picked him fresh flowers every day._

"_Ita-san…why?"she asked._

_Itachi stared into her wide juvenile eyes. The only sound was the fresh blood dripping off his katana. He slowly walked to her._

"_Kinae…"he whispered._

_He knelt down and pulled her into his lap with one hand, forcing her to look at him. Her struggling ceased as tears flowed down her cheeks. She looked up at him._

"_It's alwight Ita-san…I understand…"she whispered._

_Itachi shook. He was losing control. His Mangekyou activated and Kinae was whisked away into the most beautiful flower meadow. Millions of colors stretched as far as the eye could see._

"_Wow!"she yelled as she ran in circles, laughing, feeling Itachi's ears with the sound of innocence. _

"_Thank you, for all the flowers…"he said._

"_Youw welcome Ita-san. I wove you."_

_The breath hitched in her throat and the life faded from her eyes. She was gone._

_Itachi lay her down gently, and picked up a bouquet of flowers on her bedside and lay them to rest with her._

_He quickly exited the house and appeared in the last house left. His. The lights were still off and he entered his parents room. They stood next to each other, holding hands. Mikoto suddenly whipped out to kunai and threw them with expert precision. She was one of the most dangerous kunoichi of her time before Uchiha protocol pulled her into the life of a 'mother.'_

"_I knew this would come."she said._

"_I love you with all my heart mother."he said. "But the wrong doing of our clan shall be no more, by the order of the village elders."he continued._

"_I see."said his father._

_At that moment, Sasuke burst in. The rest was a blur as his parent's blood splashed onto his feet. Sasuke stared at him. It was at that moment that he was the one person Itachi could never kill. At least not yet. When it was all over, he appeared in the 3__rd__ Hokage's office. _

"_It is done, Hokage-sama."said Itachi, his voice raspy with unshed tears._

_Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock. Before he could say anything, Itachi vanished in a fray of crows. If you looked closely, they were crying._

_(&%^(%(*&%()*^)&%)&$%)*&^*)^*)&%&*%*&^&*^)&%&*%*%*&^)*^_%&(%*_

_Itachi wandered the forest in a daze. His broken sobs filled the area. Everything hurt. His head was pounding, and he fell on all fours, becoming violently ill._

"_Miyoshi."he rasped out. "Where are you…please answer Miyoshi…I need you…please…" His body shook, and he was writhing in pain. It could have been all emotional, but it felt so real. He clutched his stomach, and curled into a fetal position. He fell asleep like that. It was how Kisame found him, and brought him to Akatsuki. _

_**END FLASHBACK…**_

"Oh Itachi…"

She closed the distance between them, and caressed his cheek. Her lips touched his and they kissed feverishly. He slammed her against a tree and moaned as their tongues wrestled with expertise. He planted kisses down her neck, and she tangled her hands in his hair, removing the hair tie that kept it in place. He gasped out as she trailed her hands down his chest, wrapping her legs around his waist. She mewled. He growled at the intimate contact between them when suddenly, he disentangled himself from her and moved back.

"I can't."

"Do love her because she looks like me, or because of who she is?"

Itachi's eyes widened for the umpteenth time that day.

"You know?"

"Ofcourse, Itachi-kun. I've always watched her from afar. She's blossomed into a beautiful young woman."

"I love her because of who she is. She is a respectable kunoichi, and found love in a man like me. A chance that I thought was lost. What started off as an accident blended into destiny…and I will find her and protect her with all I have."

Miyoshi smiled and embraced him.

"That's what I wanted to hear. Our time for love has come and gone, Itachi."

Itachi stilled as a black mass appeared from the ground, and a young boy appeared. He had her eyes but black hair.

"How?"asked Itachi.

"I was an inexperienced genin, and I trusted the wrong people. I love him as my own though."

"Is this him, mother?"

"Yes Yotachi. This is him."

Itachi let a rare smile grace his features.

"I never forgot you, Itachi. Now, bring me to that group of yours. I'm helping with the rescue, whether they like it or not."

&^%(&^$(&$^(^%)&%^)*&^)&(^)&%&*%)*^*(_^*(%^*$$(^*%^)*&^*)^)*&^)*&%(

"Who the hell are you?"yelled Naruto.

"My name is Miyoshi Haruno, eldest sister of Sakura Haruno, missing kunoichi of Konoha, former lover of Itachi, and ally in this mission. No questions about my personal life. This is my son, Yotachi. No, it is not Itachi's. I'm here to help you. Who is in charge of this mission?"

Kakashi stepped up, closing his Icha Icha Paradise.

"Good to see you again, Miyoshi."

"Same. Now, I brought another friend with me. Kisame!"

He appeared, slamming Samehada into the ground. Itachi and Deidara immediately tensed.

"Tobi has a lot more tricks up his sleeve than I thought. One of them was mind control. I don't think an apology is necessary."he said loudly.

He reached with one hand and pat Itachi on the head.

"We're gonna get angel back, alright? With this many people here, there aint no way in hell we're gonna fail."

Miyoshi stepped forward, and the Konoha shinobi got in fighting stances. Suddenly, a deadly killer intent swept throughout the field. A few shivered.

"She already told you she's an ally. If you take out weapons with the intent to harm my mother, I guarantee a long excruciating death."

Yotachi's eyes were a full black now. Miyoshi laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch darling, they couldn't hurt me if they tried."

His eyes returned to their normal color.

"Yes, mother."

"Now, lets discuss our plan of action, shall we. Give me your names and abilites, and I'll separate us into groups. That way we can make a battle plan."

"I say we just bust in and kick ass. He knows we're coming anyways!"yelled Naruto.

"The dobe is right, for once. We don't have time to organize this while Sakura could be going through Kami-knows-what right now."agreed Sasuke.

Other heads bobbed in agreement.

"Wow, Konoha sure dropped their standards while I was away. Listen up idiots. Orochimaru has never been closer to his goal than now. Officially, he has the heir, but they just aren't born yet. That means he has basically accomplished what he's dreamed of for decades. Do you really think we can just jump in guns a' blazin at this point in time? Over my voluptuously defined ass!"

Silence.

"I like this mystery woman, yeah."

She smiled at him.

"So, whatever plans you had before can shove it. It's my way or we all die. Understood?"

"What makes you think that a rouge such as yourself that we've never heard of can just waltz back in here and take over? We are experienced and have been taught to capture people like you and turn them in for questioning. Do you honestly think we're just going to abandon our well thought out plans and listen to someone so unworthy of our trust?"

"You tell her, Neji!"agreed Kiba, for once.

"Do you babies think you actually stand a chance with that petty mindset. Ugh…how is Konoha still prosperous with dumdums like you?"

"It's because we never give up."answered Naruto.

Miyoshi smiled at him.

"You're gonna go far kid."

He smiled.

"Maybe we should give her a chance."said Ino.

"I…I agree."mumbled Hinata.

"Speak up, Hyuga girl. I woman of your beauty has nothing to be afraid of."

She blushed.

"Well…let's get it goin guys."

The few that agreed with her nodded and they set to work.

(&%^(&$()&%^)*&^_*%&^%*%)$&($%*&%)*&%)&%^_&%_*&%($($(&^%(&(*%

It was about three days until they finally had a game plan. Ino, Deidara, Sai, and Shikamaru were responsible for infiltration. Hinata and Neji were in charge of surveying the area, as well as offense and defense. Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi were offense. They would go in after infiltration. Next, Tenten, Chouji, and Lee would fight on the outside, to prevent anyone from going in or running out. Miyoshi, Yotachi, and Kakashi would do what they thought was best and help who they could.

"Does anybody have a problem with the plan?"asked Miyoshi, a creepy grin on her face.

"No…"the group mumbled.

"Good. We head out tomorrow."

(&^%$($%^(%^&%)*&%)*&%^)*&%)%)&)&%*)%$*&%*)%&_*^)*&^*^)&*%&$(

_The next morning…_

Sakura's eyes slowly fluttered open. Everything was sore.

"Itai…"she mumbled.

"It's nice to see you're finally awake."

"Shutup bastard."

"Now is that any way to treat your caretaker? Didn't you enjoy our last session?"

"Kabuto, you of all people should know that sex while I'm this pregnant is extremely dangerous for the baby."

"It would be if it was anyone but you, Sakura _darling_. You're tough, remember?

Sakura frowned and shifted away from his disgusting gaze. He smirked before walking out of her room.

'If I'm going to escape…I've got to do it now.'she thought desperately.

'**You're still tryin to escape…damn…you are soooo defiant…bow down already.'**

Sakura ignored her and concentrated. After so many days with the chakra limiters on, her chakra was almost overflowing. Now was the time. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she forced an enormous amount of chakra out of her body. Nothing.

"Sakura Sakura Sakura…you poor caged bird."

Sakura glared at Kabuto who had unexpectedly appeared.

"**This loser won't give up…AHAHAHAAA!!! It's just so entert-**

'_**There is no way you, of all things, is taking my place.'**_

(*&%*)%&*)^)*(&^*(_^(*^(_&*(&_*(^*(&(^*(&_(*_*&_(*^(^%*($%*(%&*(^(_*^*(

Sakura suddenly dropped to the ground. Inside her conscience, Inner Sakura and Curse Sakura stood opposite from eachother.

"You're still _alive_? How!?"

"Chick, you messed with the wrong conscience."

I.S. charged and slammed her fist into C.S. face, knocking the girl backwards. She screamed and jumped up, avoiding I.S. next blow.

The two girls fought furiously, coming to a standstill when C.S. rammed her knee into the other girl's stomach. I.S. dropped and C.S. stepped on her neck.

"Why don't you just surrender, little girl? There's no way in hell you can win."

Inner Sakura smirked and yelled. Her body tripled in size and she smiled down evily at Curse Sakura.

"This is for all the pain you caused my counterpart."

A chakra enhanced fist slammed down on the other girl. She screamed and her body disintegrated.

"DAMN YOUUUUU!!!!"

*^$#$&*$&*^(%(%&%(&*%(&$ (^$(&%(%&(*&%*$%%^)*^)&*^)&**&%*&%)*^(

Kabuto frowned at Sakura's limp body on the floor. Suddenly she screamed out.

"_**CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**_

Her body gave off a blue tint as the chakra overflowed from her body. The limiters shattered and she glared at Kabuto. Slamming her fist into him, and gagged and flew backwards through the wall.

Using that chance, Sakura bolted, desperate for an escape. Her enlarged womb made it extremely difficult to maintain her regular speed. Slamming through walls, she found herself in a room identical to hers.

"You are quite the ssssssurprising one aren't you?"

She turned and her eyes met with those of the demon, Orochimaru himself. He ran at her and they engaged in a taijutsu battle.

"Why no weapons? Afraid to get serious? Well I am!!"she yelled.

"You carry my tool to world domination. Why would I risk destroying my container?"

Sakura grit her teeth and aimed a sharp kick to his head, only for him to block it.

"You will never have my child."she spat.

"You're in my domain now little girl. Everything here belongs to me. Including you and the container."he retorted.

Sakura cursed as she was knocked back. Gathering her wit, she charged toward him, when suddenly, a loud splash echoed through out the room.

Her shocked eyes met with his evil ones.

"Oh Kami…"

Her water just broke.

**^(&%(&%^*)&%)&*^)*&^)(*^_(*^(_^_*(&^&*^)*%&^%(&*&*)&)*(*^)(*&(_**

**PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEE review. By now you can see that we are a few chapters from the end. The suspense, lolzzz. Well, I have a couple of questions I'd like you to answer in reviews.**

**Did you like it?**

**Why?**

**Do you like the way Itachi and Miyoshi are?**

**Are you satisfied that Itachi loves Sakura?**

**What do you think about Yotachi?**

**How should Kabuto suffer?**

**Here are a few other questions about future fics I might write that are not about Naruto.**

**Do you like Final Fantasy 7?**

**Reno in particular?**

**Kingdom Hearts?**

**Axel/Namine??**

**And two more things that will be starting soon.**

**-Sakura/Deidara/Itachi: 2009 setting- they have powers…trust me, it will be better than it sounds. All powers are linked to abilities they have in the actual show ^_^**

**-Sakura/Itachi: 2009 setting-Itachi is a young man who runs away from his imposed responsibility as the Uchiha heir. He changes his name and appearance and now works at a place called Konoha café. There he meets rising actress Sakura Haruno, and they find love. But paparazzi want to know about this mystery man the star is often seen with. It will be full of drama, some action, the works ^_^**

**Again, please review. It really inspires me, and the bigger my head is, the better the chapters ^_^ :p**


	19. FYI: PLEASE READ!

FYI: some of you must be wondering why the HELL I'm taking so long to update. Here's the story.

I was pretty much done with the new chapter when suddenly, my computer dad's computer screen stopped functioning completely. WTF. So he took it to the fixer up place and we found out that there were over 300 viruses in the computer. Mind you that we have so much spyware and compter protection crap, so I'm wondering why the damn stuff didn't work. So in order to fix the computer the database had to be **WIPED CLEAN.** So I lost all my work. Not cool.

Then December third came and I turned 16. Yay. My parents got me a macbook, so I was working diligently when I found the time. And then the inevitable happened.

Monday, Dec 14, I was walking to my bus stop. I noticed that the roads were covered in black ice, so I was slowly making my way down. I was thinking of turning back when I heard my neighbor's car backing out. I was going to ask him for a ride. I'm don't know what I did next, but I woke up in his car gushing blood. My neighbor was hysterical, running around and trying to help me. It turns out his car lost control and slid on the ice, slamming into me. :( I woke up again, and my dad was stroking my hair and desperately telling me not to fall asleep. The pain was so unbearable I couldn't really feel it. My mom was nearby and she was crying and saying 'look at her face'. My brother, who I've never seen cry for me, was pacing and sobbing in the background. When the ambulance came, they put me in a neckbrace and strapped me up. Then they cut off my clothes, wtf, and cursed the entire way there. I remember singing to myself, trying to keep calm. It was weird.

Well it turns out that my jaw broke and my teeth were all crooked and messed up. My braces actually saved 8 of my teeth. So I went into surgery and now my jaw is currently wired shut. I can only take in liquids for a couple of weeks. I cant look at a plate of food without crying. I have to take liquid antibiotics through a small pump. I also have to take crushed pain meds mixed with a drink since I cant open my jaw to take the pill whole. My life is miserable right now. I think I'm becoming depressed. I cant afford to lose any weight either, because my natural body weight is 85 pounds(yeah, I know, I'm short and skinny :p) and if I do I'll have to go back to the hospital. If I don't eat enough with my medication, my stomach will bleed because it'll eat out of it…or something like that. So I'm living off broth, drinks, rootbeer floats, and blended foods. I don't know what I'm doing for Christmas.

Now, through all this, I desperately trying to find the motivation to write. I know I'm way past the deadline for you guys, and it's unfair that I'm allowing my personal problems to interfere. But I'm begging you to bear with me, and give me a little more time. Thanks ^_^-Uchihacutie


	20. Chapter 19

The pain. That was all Sakura could focus on. The searing pain shooting down her back and abdomin. It couldn't be real. But it was. She was in such an agonized daze that she never felt or heard Orochimaru scoop her up and drop her on the concrete birthing table.

"Finally, all that I have imagined is taking place, and all it took was a pregnant kunoichi. You made a mistake Itachi, one that will give me the world. Every jutsu…mine. Kabuto…"

A low groan came from the pile of rubble that Sakura had demolished. Bloodied hands shot up and Kabuto weekly pulled himself up and out, staggering to the next wall to regain his sight and footing. His moment of weakness passed quickly as he healed himself with a speed acquired from intense training.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru?"

"Please see to Sakura for me."

Sakura awoke from her pain induced stupor and gasped as she struggled to sit up. Both turned toward her.

"Ahhh…you're back with us are you? How wonderful. Kabuto here is going to oversee your birth. He won't help you though. A medic of your nature should be able to deliver by herself, I assume."

Sakura gaped.

"I can't do this by myself. Even medics have additional help! The baby could come out with permanent damage…"

"Consider it punishment. You weren't exactly what I would call cooperative with us earlier. Regreting your rash choices?"

"You actually expected me to accept this!? No mother in her right mind would allow a madman like you to have their way with her child! You can't do this!?"

"But I can, little blossom. And I will. Kabuto, don't help her at all, just make sure the baby doesn't die. We aren't expecting her to live through this, so when they are born just leave her here…as a present for Itachi. You don't mind that do you?"

Kabuto smiled maniacally.

"Not a bit."

* * *

"Are you ready?"

The group of ninja stood a short distance to the base, their faces lit with a blazing determination.

Miyoshi didn't need an answer to know that they were.

"Then let the poop hit the fan."

Sai, Ino, and Deidara dashed into the base. Once inside, they crouched in a dark corridor. Sai immediately whipped out a scroll, brush, and ink and drew five mice. They moved and scuttled off the scroll looking at their master. After a silent command, they took off into the unknown. Deidara looked over and molded his clay. Spiders appeared and ran the opposite direction. He took a deep breath and then turned the other two.

"I'm going off now guys, un. I know this wasn't apart of the plan, but I need to do this, un. For Cherry Blossom's sake, yeah."

"Totally understand Deidara, you should get going."replied Ino.

"I, however, do not get the point in you doing this. What's done is done, and…nevermind."

One look from Ino shut Sai up. Ino turned and grasped Deidara's face, staring into his eyes.

"Be careful."

He nodded before dashing off into another corridor, before he sat and waited. His spiders would tell him all he needed to know.

Ino then looked at Sai.

"I guess it's my turn, huh?

The two looked at each other before finding an empty room in the dimly lit corridor. It looked just as Sai remember it from years before. The days where team 7 spent all their time trying to retrieve Sasuke. He looked around slowly, before going stiff and pulling Ino away from the ajar door's light. Her body was pressed against his. They stared into each other's eyes, before Ino gave a nervous smile.

"There are 5 coming in this direction. Get ready."

Ino nodded, and touched his cheek. He leaned down and kissed her roughly, not wanting to waste time. She kissed him back before parting.

"When this is over, we'll announce our…relationship."

"Ofcourse…"

They were both silent as a group walked passed. Sai rapped his fist against the wall loudly. They both stood still, holding their breath.

"Did you guys hear something in that room a second ago?"one of them asked.

"Nah, Kisuke, you're so damned paranoid. "laughed another one.

Kisuke blushed.

"Well, I'm checking it out. Better safe than sorry."

The group mumbled and continued walking without him. Kisuke stealthily made his way into the open room and looked around. Ino jumped out suddenly and cried, "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" With one last fleeting look at her secret lover, she collapsed into his waiting arms.

Kisuke looked momentarily stunned, before he looked over at Sai. Then 'she' smiled.

"I don't think you want a kiss from me." 'she' giggled.

He pretended to lurch, before his face got serious.

"Go, before his comrades become suspicious."he commanded.

'She' nodded before calmly walking out. The group stood at the end of the hallway.

"What took so long?"one asked.

"Nothing, you were right, it was my imagination." 'she' replied, before jogging to catch up.

They laughed before walking off, Sai silently following with Ino's limp body.

"We are in position."he mumbled into the wireless radio.

Static sounded before he got a reply.

"Good."

* * *

Miyoshi looked at the group.

"Alright, so those three are currently searching for Sakura's direct place of imprisonment. We just have to wait a little bit longer. Itachi, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kisame will attack from the insode along with those three. The rest of us will fight out here."

She took a deep breath.

'Now all we need is a little patience.'

* * *

Sakura screamed in unadulterated agony. This was unlike anything she had ever felt. It was overwhelming.

"Kabuto…please…"she begged.

He simply smirked and looked at the small pool of blood that was flowing from between her legs.

It was almost time.

Sakura almost blacked out as the next contraction hit. She couldn't help but whimper pitifully as she looked at Kabuto's uncaring face. Then something caught her eye. Three painted mice stared at her before dispersing and forming elegantly painted letters.

'_Hold strong. Dickless is coming.'_

Sakura's eyes widened as realization slammed into her. At first it was a small giggle, that grew into a loud howling laughter. She was so happy. A boost of strength came to her and she knew it wouldn't be long.

Kabuto's smirk had long faded. What could have made her so happy? He frowned. He had been enjoying those screams of hers…

'I can do this…'she thought.

* * *

Sai's eyes snapped open. He had found her. Grabbing his mike, he whispered her exact position.

* * *

Miyoshi smiled. She looked at the group that was itching to run to battle.

"Sai, give the signal. It's time to get my sister back."

Itachi looked at her before he all but took off into the hideout, the rest of his temporary squad on his tail. There was a black ink lining the ground, showing him the direction. The others struggled to keep up as he ran at a speed almost unheard of. Sasuke watched him in concealed awe.

* * *

'Ino' looked up at Sai who was hiding. 'She' looked at the group who had walked into a room, fool of sound ninja. Their numbers were unimaginable. Sai nodded at her.

Grabbing a kunai, 'she' killed the closest one to 'her'.

He smirked, and took out a scroll, drawing a vast number of beasts. They jumped out and attacked the confused enemies.

"What the hell, Kisuke?"the one from earlier cried.

Ino decided that she fought best in her original body, so she quickly released the jutsu and returned to her own. Glancing at him she smiled before grabbing to kunai.

Sai and Ino jumped into the fray, killing who they could. Cold yellow eyes watched from the background., before stepping out.

"All of you head into the corridorssss…don't worry about thessse two…I'll take good care of them."he commanded.

"Hai!!"they all shouted before running off.

Orochimaru turned and his eyes met with Ino's.

"Let'ss begin, shall we?"he said, before licking his lips.

)(#^&Y^(&$^&%*&^(^&(%%&%$&$&$&^&^*&(^&$$$!#$%^&*(()*&^%$

Deidara closed his eyes and listened, making sure the room was empty before barging in. He had very little time, and they would need his help before long. He had to act fast. Running to a cabinet, he read the labels of certain vials before tossing them. He closed his eyes and tried to remember one of their last conversations together.

_Deidara sat Indian style, his eyebrows furrowed in focus. He was making another clay toy for Sephira. This one was a puppy. She sat nearby, humming a cheerful tune to herself._

"_Sephira…"_

_She turned her large pink eyes to him._

"_Yea Deidei?"_

"_How many experiments were with you when you still worked for snake-teme, hm?"_

_Her expression darkened at that name._

"_Ummm…I dunno. But I do know that my number was 637089…"_

"_637089, hm?"he repeated._

"_Yup. But I'm glad I have a real name, some of the others only had their numbers."she said._

"_Well that's two good things then. You have a name, AND your name is very beautigul just like you, yeah."_

_She smiled and giggled before thanking him and going back to her humming._

'_637089….'_

Deidara shook himself out of his daydream and realized that he'd have to look at the vials based on her ID number. Searching with a whole new vigor, he went from cabinet to cabinet, until he came across one labeled 'ACCIDENTS'. He opened it up and searched until he saw one with her number.

_In the case that experiment number__** 637089 **__expires before its use is completed, this vial is to be injected into its heart to revive it. However, take into consideration that once this experiment is revived, this cannot be undone._

Deidara wore a triumphant grin on his face.

"Just you wait Sephira, I'm bringing you back to me, yeah."

* * *

Itachi came to an abrupt halt. He saw a large amount of chakra signatures headed their way. Angrily, he glared as the vast group of enemy ninja blocked them from getting any further. He realized that he'd have to fight, wasting valuable time.

"Get out of our way!! Sakura-chan is waiting for us!!"screamed Naruto.

"That pink haired bitch belongs to Oro-ACK!!"

Itachi removed the kunai from that mans throat. The rest of them charged.

Itachi's movements were frantic. He didn't have time for this. For all he knew they could have been torturing her. Activating his Mangekyou Sharingan, he performed a few hand signs before saying one word.

"Amaterasu."

Black flames from hell shot out of his mouth and engulfed the whole lot of Sound ninja. The screams were horrendous as they all flailed in a futile attempt to escape from the never ending flames. After the last one fell, the group surveyed the damage. All around them, the carnage was unbelievable. Hundreds of charred bodies lay motionless. Kisame let out a vulgar laugh.

"Well, ain't nothing I haven't seen yet. Lets get a move on. I think we're close."he said.

"Agreed."mumbled Itachi.

They continued running down the hallways following the black ink path.

* * *

Sakura felt the foundation of the base shudder. There was some intense battle going on out there. She recognized some of the chakra signatures. These were the people she left behind in Konoha.

Gasping again, she felt the sudden urge to push. She was dilated already?!

"Oh kami!"she cried.

Gathering her little remaining strength, she pushed as hard as she could. She vaguely saw Kabuto move to position himself at the base of her birthing canal.

Sakura gasped aloud for a few seconds before sucking in her breath to push again. She screamed as she felt the baby forcing it's way through. One last time, she pushed with all her might and felt the pressure lighten.

Opening her eyes, her world froze. In the arms of the enemy, she saw a beautiful baby boy. His eyes were closed as he shivered, He had his father's dark hair. Then he opened his eyes, and bright veridian orbs stared back at her. Slowwly, he opened his mouth, and a piercing wail shattered the silence.

* * *

Itachi froze, as did the rest of the group. A loud babies called to him, and he realized whose child that was. It was his. He didn't understand how the baby could have been born so early, but he didn't care either. All he knew was that he was running faster than he ever thought he could, with one destination in mind.

His beloved needed him, and now did his child, who if he didn't rush, would never know the word freedom.

'Fight Sakura. Fight for me because I'm not there. Just hold on…please…I'm almost there.'he thought to himself.

There was a light at the end of the corridor, and he burst into the room. Enraged red eyes met dull and tired veridian ones.

He had found her.

* * *

**Ok guys…it's been a time since my last update. *****Cowers in corner while you stone her***** So sorry for that, and I know his chapter was kinda sucky for such a long wait. But…I hope you enjoyed it anyways.**

**So for those who bothered to read through my little note, you know I was hit by a car, broke my jaw, the works. Welll…I am scheduled for a surgery on Feb.2 to get all this metal junk out my mouth so I can eat properly and stuff. WOOHOO!!! But yeah, this little fanfic is so close to being finished. I have more fanfics coming soon so…**

**Oh yeah, you are in for a surprise next chapter, that's for sure…heheheee…**

**Many Thanks to the following…**

uchiha-senna

Nek0Neko

sodapopgirly83

XeniaKunoichi

NightWing101

CrAzYaNiMeFrEaKgUrL

iTsAxSecret

rosepuppy

sleeping itasaku fangirl

kittycat5261

GreekLia

miss kaitlin inuzuka

SweetSoul3155

Emo-Goddess-of-the-dark.

Deneca

Itaweasel-hime

Toylet-thug

**You guys were all supportive and helped me feel a lot better when I was down. Thanks a lot and I love you guys**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! The more I get the bigger my head gets, and the better the next chapters…much luv ^o^ **


	21. Chapter 20

For the first time in his life, Kabuto felt real fear. All this time living with his lord had numbed the feeling. His position with Orochimaru had given him power over others, people who were weak, and even some who were strong. People had always feared him, not the other way around. But now, the blood drained from his face as he looked at the father of this baby in his arms. Crimson eyes were narrowed with rage, and the tomoe in his eyes spinning wild. Kabuto couldn't help but shiver.

He looked down at the babe in his arms as he squirmed. The child seemed to know he didn't belong in his arms. When he looked back up, Itachi was standing right in front of him. In that small instant, he closed that large distance? Impossible. He wanted to cry.

"Why does she look like that?"

She? Oh, Sakura…

He fumbled for an answer. However, before he could, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kisame barged in as well.

"Sakura!!"yelled Naruto.

He ran to her withered form. Sasuke looked at her before glaring at Kabuto.

"You've got some nerve…"he sneered.

Kisame just smirked. "Itachi, make it quick, that snake's on his way…"

Itachi nodded. Grabbing his son from Kabuto's stunned arms, he threw the baby and Sasuke caught him.

Sakura gasped.

"Itachi don't _throw_ our child, you damned idiot. Now do me a favor and kill Kabuto for me. He did some stuff we can't let him live for…well…at least _you_ won't."

His brow furrowed. Kabuto paled even further, and felt the bile rise up in his throat.

"What do you mean?"he asked, his voice unusually more sinister than normal.

"Why don't you find out, darling."she mumbled.

Grabbing Kabuto's face, he forced the man to look at him. Activating his Mangekyou again, he searched his memories. His grip tightened with each second, to the point where Kabuto moaned in pain. This man was crushing his head with his bare hands. Finally, Itachi let go and backed up, staring at Kabuto wide eyed. Suddenly, Itachi punched Kabuto in the face, shattering his glasses. Kabuto cried out as he flew backward into the wall, the glass embedded in his face. Itachi walked up to him and grabbed him by his shirt, repeatedly slamming him into the wall.

"How. Dare. You…"

Kabuto smirked, putting up a false bravado.

"Did…you really think…I could stay immune to her charm for so long? I mean…it didn't take long for the infamous Uchiha Itachi to fall…"he said.

Itachi grabbed him up by the neck and held him in place. Kabuto clenched his eyes shut. Itachi smirked.

"Do you really think that will work against me?"

Kabuto's agonized screams rang out throughout the compound. He clawed at Itachi's arms in a frantic attempt at escape. Finally, he slumped over, his arms and head falling limp. Itachi let him go and he crumpled to the floor, his eyes staring at everything and nothing. They were glazed over in death.

"Well damn, Itachi…"said Kisame, his predator like grin on his face.

Itachi immediately turned to Sakura. He rushed over to her.

"Are you alright?"he asked softly.

"Actually, I'm far from it, but that doesn't matter. Check on our son."

Itachi's eyes widened. He had forgotten about him. Calmly, he held his hands out and Sasuke placed the crying child in his arms. The boy's eyes immediately opened and his cries ceased for a short while. He looked at his father, eyes bright, before smiling and settling into a fitful sleep. Itachi just stared at him, not knowing what to.

Sakura watched the two of them in awe. Itachi looked so amazing, and with their son in his arms like that, she couldn't help but think the scene was almost perfect. If it weren't for the stench of death and blood, and her feeling and looking worse than ever before, and them being in the middle of a madman's hideout, and if the madman himself wasn't watching them with a venomous grin, and…wait…what?

Sakura gasped. Itachi calmly looked up at Orochimaru, before placing the baby in Sakura's tired arms.

"Just a little bit longer, my _einjeru_, and you'll be safe again."

Sakura nodded before laying back down. Itachi suddenly disappeared, as did Orochimaru and the rest of the people in the room. She could here the distan sounds of an intense battle. Shifting her weight, she slowly pushed herself up, only for a sharp pain to shoot through her body. She stifled a scream and clutched her lower abdomen with one hand, and held her son in the other. She screamed out as another sharp pain tore through her. She gasped out and clenched her teeth shut as she panted. Then, she recognized the pain, as the urge to push came again.

"WHAT!!??? There's _ANOTHER_ one!!??? DAMNIT!!!!!!!!"she screamed.

* * *

Miyoshi's eyes were a full black as majority of the enemies outside the compound were sucked into a black liquid. They're screams soon became gurgles as they sank into the muck, disappearing.

The others watched in shock before turning and continuing with the rest of the enemies. Yotachi ran to his mother and helped her stand.

"Are you alright?"he asked.

"Yea, but I can't help but feel that Sakura needs help…but I can't leave from here. It seems the more of these guys we kill, the more comb out to fight…we can't keep this up forever…"she said.

He nodded before catching a kunai and throwing it back o the owner, lodging it in his forehead. The man looked stunned before collapsing in convulsions, and then dying. Miyoshi sighed before rising shakily, plunging back into the war.

* * *

Two sets of wails echoed through out the compound. Sakura stared at the crying girl in her other arm, the umbilical cord still binding them together. The girl also had her father's hair and her eyes. The girl's face was red as she screamed into the dimly lit room.

"Shhh…shhh…hush now darling's, it's alright. Please stop crying. Shhh…we're gonna be just fine."she said. She rocked them both, before gathering her strength and slowly moved herself of the concrete table. She waddled to a counter and placed both of them there. Then she found a pair of scissors and cut the cord. Then she proceeded to was the blood off both of them before finding something to dry them off. It was then she looked at her son and paled. How could they have not noticed before!? On his stomach was a small but recognizable black marking. It was a curse mark. Orochimaru had marked her son.

Sakura didn't know what to think. She just stared at him, and caressed his cheek. She now knew that her eldest child would never have a normal life…but she would be damned if she didn't try her hardest to help him through it. Gathering her wit, she found two thin sheets and crisscrossed them, placing her children inside, and securing it to her. (A/N…u know how in some cultures mothers use a sheet to tie their children to them?? That's what she did but this time there are two ^o^) Then she cut part of the bloodied shirt she had on and found a pair of black ninja pants, quickly stepping into them and securing them with the draw string. She slowly made her way to the faucet and turned it on, cupping her hands over the running water and taking a long drink. After that, she washed her face and ran the water over her matted hair. Looking in a cracked mirror, she seemed satisfied with herself for now. Making her way to Kabuto's dead body, she kicked him over before taking his weapons. Searching through his pockets, she found soldier pills.

'**BOOYAH!! Just what we need!!'**screamed inner Sakura.

Sakura couldn't help but smile in agreement. She quickly swallowed a pill before making her way out. She walked for a bit before she stopped and listened. The sounds of the fight between that snake and her lover sounded more distant. Itachi was bringing the fight away from her, giving her the chance to escape. Oh ho she loved him. Making her way in the opposite direction, she walked and walked for what seemed an eternity, until she heard a lot of moevement coming from behind her. She turned around and barely dodged a kunai as it whizzed by her cheek.

"Just great…"she muttered, taking out her own, well, it WAS Kabuto's…but he wouldn't be needing them anytime soon…

She threw the kunai and it hit one, but there were about ten others she had to fight off ass well. Grabbing to more kunai, she threw them, but one of them made multiple hand signs before they reached him and a hard blast of wind shot out, repelling her weapons. Sakura screamed as the kunai flew by her and she was slammed back into a concrete wall about 20 ft from where she had been standing. She cried out at the impact and slid to the floor, her arms wrapped around her children protectively.

"Well lookey here. It's Orochimaru's bitch and his new container-Oh ho hoo…_containers_…well…aint he the lucky snake."he said.

Sakura could hardly hear him, the impact still ringing in her ears. She was gasping aloud, each breath bringing a stabbing pain. Looking up, she couldn't keep the horror off her face as she saw them approaching, when suddenly, they blew up. Her jaw dropped in confusion, until she saw long blonde hair through the smoke.

"Well I think I came just in time, yeah."

Sakura smiled as he ran over to her.

"I'll be damned…twins, hm?"

"Yeah."she muttered weakly.

He smirked before gathering her in his arms, not at all bothered by the extra weight. Sakura noticed how strong he was as she felt his defined muscles hardly strained by her weight. She saw black spots dance in her eyes as she leaned into him, just wanting a few minutes of rest.

"Take a small nap, yeah. I'll find your boyfriend."she vaguely heard him say, before she went limp with exhaustion.

* * *

**Well I have to say, this was probably my fastest update EVER…GEE WILIKERS… lolol…**

**Yay to Kabuto's agonized death ^o^**

**So, I'm pretty sure you guys weren't expecting another baby…**

**Yay to twins ^o^**

**I just couldn't resist that Deidara's defined muscles commen. He's just that sexy…next to Itachi ofcourse…**

**I blush ///./// **

**Sooo…even though this update is kinda short, I really tried hard to be descriptive on this one. I really enjoy writing and I want to get better, so instead of rushing through it as usual, I took my time and tried to add more detail. Hope u like…**

**There's probably 1-3 more chappies left, and this fanfic comes to a close…**

**Until then, much luv- **_**Uchihacutie**_


	22. Chapter 21

He hurt. Everywhere. Something heavy was on his chest. That must have been why he was struggling to breathe. What happened? It was so fuzzy, and he could hardly remember. Who was he again? He stopped trying to move and focused on trying to open his eyes instead. Then he could get a bearing of his surroundings. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open and he gasped out, looking around. There was debris and kunai everywhere. Blood and battered bodies were splattered and limp across the ground. He looked down and saw a large support beam was resting on his chest. He slowly pushed against it, but feeling a bone inside him shift, he decided to try something else. Like remembering what had happened to place him in this position. He thought. Hard. Memories of running, gasping, pain filled screams, explosions, snakes…

That's right. He had been fighting Orochimaru.

He thought harder, squeezing his eyes shut, as more memories of the battle flooded his aching head. The last memory that came was a female's voice screaming his name, before pain and darkness.

There had been a girl with him? Who? Suddenly he gasped out.

Ino.

He felt something in his chest that he hadn't felt before. His heart was beating rapidly, and he had the biggest adrenaline rush he'd ever experienced. Questions and thoughts filled his mind at a rapid pace, and his inner voice had a sound of desperation he wasn't familiar with.

Was he experiencing fear?

That must have been it, because when he squinted to look around the battlefield, he saw a limp figure with long blonde tresses around it, and he could have sworn his heart stopped. A dainty hand was laying across her stomach, and it was covered in blood. It didn't look like she was breathing. The energy that wasn't there moments ago suddenly took over his body, and he mustered the strength to push the beam off of him. He moaned as he felt his shattered ribs shift with the strenuous effort it took for him to move such a boulder. When he was freed, he gasped as he stood up and staggered around the bodies, tripping over some in order to get to her. He finally stopped before her and collapsed onto his knees. His hands shook as he reached toward her and moved the hair from her face. She looked so serene, even though there were blood stains splattered across her pale face. Her cheeks were missing that blush he was used to. Her plump and glossy lips were chapped an caked with blood. But she still looked so beautiful. He stiffened as he felt something wet rolling down his face. Putting his bloodied fingers to his cheeks, he felt water.

Was he…crying?

His heart hurt as he watched her lay there, his stomach felt as if he was going to throw up everything he had ever eating. Like the fish she had prepared for him before they set off to rescue Ugly. He heard whimpering, and was surprised to realize it was him doing so.

He WAS crying.

He collapsed against her body, and cried out. She was gone. How could he have let this happen? He was supposed to protect her. And he had been the one to succumb to the pain and forced her to fight all by herself. He clutched her Chunin vest as he sobbed against her, taking deep breathes as he struggled to breathe. He had never cried before, so this was so new to him. Why couldn't he stop?

Maybe it was the fact that someone who had seen him from the inside was gone, because he had been to weak. There where very few who understood him like Ino did, and had shown him how to lo-……….

That must be it. The answer to this pain. This pain that was flowing through his veins, like poison. It was mind numbing.

He had loved her. Really really loved her. He was partially in shock due to how loud he was sobbing, and the fact that she was really gone.

"S…Sai…*cough*"

And it was her fault that he would never hear her laugh again.

"Sai…"

See her smile again.

"Sai…it's ok."

Add more of her angelic beauty to his sketchbook…

"Sai…shh…"

Kiss her, hold her, tell her that he actually loved her…

"SAI!!! *cough cough cough*"

Sai's head shot up, and he gazed at her, eyes wide.

Her sky blue pupil less eyes stared at him in slight wonder. His breathing was ragged and his face was flushed at how hard he had been crying…CRYING…for her.

The arm that wasn't pressing against her stomach wound reached up and brought his head against her chest. It caressed his hair as he slowly breathed against her. He was running his hand through her blood caked hair.

"Are you alright?"he whispered.

"Not really…"she gasped out, chuckling lightly.

He didn't like the joke.

Her body shook severely as she went through another rough coughing fit.

Sai looked at her in concern. He helped her sit up and listened to her as she gasped in pain. He looked at her stomach wound, which was bleeding profusely. He struggled to stand as he scooped her up bridal style into his arms. She leaned against him, her eyes slightly unfocused as she pushed a bit of her healing chakra into her open wound. The bleeding slowed. Her body bounced as Sai walked out of the room that smelled heavily of death, the feeling lulling her into a more relaxed state.

"I love you."

Her body stiffened as she stared up at him in shock.

"I love you, so you have to survive. I…I can't lose you, so please…please stay strong."

His eyes were moist. She searched his face for any sign of deceit. Finding none, she lifted her hand and caught some of his tears.

"I love you too, Sai."she whispered weakly.

She ws so tired, and wanted to sleep so badly. Just a few minutes to give in to the pain that she felt. But she knew the moment she closed her eyes, she would have given up on life because she wouldn't wake up.

Maybe if she wasn't so in love, she would have given in.

Or maybe it was also due to the fact that she was pregnant…

* * *

Itachi grunted as the snakes squeezed tighter, cutting off his breathing air. Why was his brother so damn weak! Sasuke was frozen in shock. Had Itachi just…

_Sasuke barely managed to dodge to the left as Orochimaru's snake sword slammed into the ground where he had just been. He turned to the side only to see Naruo losing control to his demon chakra. _

'_**Damn it dobe, now's not the time to go crazy like this. If the building takes anymore damage it can collapse.'**_

_Suddenly Sasuke was roughly tossed to the side just before Orochimaru's snakes got him, only they wrapped around Itachi himself. _

'Why the hell would Itachi do that?'he thought frantically.

Acting quickly, Sasuke yanked Orochimaru's snake sword out of the ground and used it to severe the bind on Itachi. The moment Itachi was freed he vanished and reappeared in front of Orochimaru, forming rapid hand signs and releasing a powerful fire ball jutsu. He dodged and came at Itachi, the two entering a taijutsu battle.

Itachi jumped up and slammed his foot downwards, landing on Orochimaru's forarm. The snake forced his hand upward, throwing Itachi off balance, and wrapped his tongue aroung his neck, slamming him into the ground. Itachi cried out only to poof away.

'DAMN! A substitution!?' he thought.

Itachi appeared beside him and delivered a strong roundhouse kick on Orochimaru's head, sending him careening into a far wall. Orochimaru hissed in pain, but got up nonetheless.

"Do you really think you can beat me, Itachi? Kukukuu."

"The moment you endangered my einjeru sealed your fate, Snake. Prepare for your demise."

And with that he charged again, only for Naruto to barrel passed him on all fours, slamming into Orochimaru and flying through a wall into another room. The base shook again. Itachi frowned as he heard another inhuman roar and the sounds of an intense battle.

Sasuke appeared beside him, and winced as he heard the unmistakable sound of claws tearing into flesh.

"What should be do, aniki?"he asked, trying to hide the venom behind his words.

He hated the fact that he had to ask his brother for directions. He looked around for Kisame, but then remembered him saying he was going to finish off the strays who were lingering in the base.

"We can't fight properly with the Jinchuuriki running rampant like this."he answered.

"I'll try to hold off Naruto, and you kill the Snake."said Sasuke.

"And how do you intend to hold him off, little brother?"

"Like this."

He gasped and hunched over as he activated level two of his cursed mark. The wings protruded from his back and his skin was a darkened color. His hair was now a dull grey and longer. Standing at his full height, he smirked at Itachi before taking off, soaring low on the ground and through the decimated wall into the next room.

'Did I create that monster in Sasuke?' Itachi thought before dashing in there after him.

* * *

Deidara stumbled as another inhuman roar ripped through out the compound.

"Damn it that Kyuubi can never keep control, yeah!"he cussed as he continued dashing thorugh the hallways.

H looked down at the pink haired female passed out in his arms. She didn't deserve this stress. The he stared at the twins wrapped carefully on top of her. They were both staring at him, their absinthe eyes wide and awake. They were so innocent, and were supposed to be somewhere safe and relaxed. Not in this hellhole with no guarantee for their freedom or survival.

He stuck his tongue out at them and their eyebrows furrowed. He smiled.

"Cute, yeah."

Funny, up until a few months ago, cute wasn't even in his vocabulary. Amazing what one pink haired medic could change.

"We'll get you outta here, yeah. And then you and that uptight bastard can live happily ever after."

He then turned his attention back onto the task of either finding Itachi or getting the heck out of here. He took a sharp right turn and nearly collided Sai and Ino.

The two came to a stop and looked at each other. Ino gasped and pushed herself out of Sai's arms, staggering over to the limp Sakura.

"She fell asleep, yeah. I'm no medic but her pulse seemed healthy and stuff, but…ummm…this might be a problem, yeah."

He gestured to the slowly growing blood stain coming from Sakura's crotch. Ino cursed. She hardly had enough chakra as it was, and she still was trying to heal the wound that was dangerously close to her wound.

She had a choice. Sacrifice the little chakra she had left to help her best friend and risk losing the baby, or keep the chakra to save herself and risk losing her best friend. It was then she remembered the objective of this mission.

Save Sakura Haruno.

Letting out a choked sob, she placed her hands near the blood stain and pushed her chakra into it. When she finished she barley had enough chakra to call herself alive. Slumping backwards, Sai caught her as she breathed loudly, while crying her heart out. She knew she didn't have much time. Deidara looked at her, a deep frown on his face.

"Thanks, yeah…but…are you going to be okay? Why are you crying, yeah?"

She just shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Deidara…just get Sakura to wherever she needs to be, and be safe. C'mon Sai."

Sai and Deidara nodded at each other before taking off in separate directions.

Sai looked down at Ino who was clutching his shirt and crying quietly.

"You have to hurry Sai…"she whispered.

He didn't understand what was wrong with her. But one look at the desperation on her face and that was enough for him to push himself like never before.

Whatever was going on was serious, and he realized that he needed to give his all in getting her some help.

* * *

Deidara dashed toward Itachi's chakra signature. The closer he got to it the more doubtful he felt about bringing Sakura and the babies toward the danger.

He knew Sakura wanted nothing more than to be near Itachi while he fought valiantly for her safety, but he had a nagging feeling that things were safer away from here.

"Something's about to happen, yeah…"he mumbled, and he shivered at the dread plaguing his body.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto were battling it out about 15ft away while Orochimaru and Itachi stared each other down.

"Sasuke, get Naruto out of here."he said as he eyed Orochimaru.

The snake had bleeding gashes all around him, and he was still smoking from Sasuke's curse level 2 Chidori Nagashi.

Sasuke nodded before maneuvering his way further from the battle, Naruto blindly following him.

Perfect. When they were far enough, Itachi performed rapid hand signs.

"It's time to end this."he said.

A mass of red erupted from his body, taking the form of a monster from hell. It took up most of the room and touched the high ceiling, yellow eyes peering at Orochimaru.

Itachi grit his teeth in pain and clutched his stomach, fighting to maintain control of this technique.

"Susanoo."

* * *

Deidara gasped out, coming to an abrupt halt. The sheer evil radiating from the fight was…unbelievable. Sakura woke up suddenly, feeling cold. The babies wailed at the pressure.

"W…what's going on, Deidara? What is this feeling?"

Deidara could only stare ahead in shock. Sweat poured from his head as he shivered at the feeling of such a powerfull chakra like this.

"Is this Itachi's power?"asked Sakura.

He didn't answer. Instead he made a u-turn and made a beeline to find the exit.

"Wait! Where are you going!?" she yelled.

"I can't take you there, yeah. It's to dangerous for you and the twins…any closer and they'll probably die."

Sakura paled at the thought of losing the children.

"But what about Itachi?"

Before he answered, the compound shook and he lost his footing. He twisted himself so he fell on his back to protect Sakura and the twins. He gasped as his back slammed onto the ground. Panting, he forced himself to get up and sprinted as fast as he could. All around them, chunks of the base crashed to the ground, nearly crushing them. Sakura prayed as they ran, begging the Kami's to help them escape.

Deidara jumped and avoided another large boulder, slamming into the wall beside him and nearly losing his footing. He turned down another hallway to see a frowning Naruto and Sasuke come beside them.

"I know this technique. We have to get the hell out of here."said Sasuke.

"What about Itachi!? The building is gonna collapse!"

"Itachi knows what he's doing Sakura-chan. Trust him."said Naruto, barely dodging another chunk of rock.

Sakura couldn't help but feel like she was going to lose him.

Turning down another hallway, they saw Sai carrying Ino, sprinting as fast as possible.

Deidara cursed as he watched how the building was falling apart.

"We're not gonna make it like this, yeah. Kyuubi, catch her!"

Sakura screamed as she was tossed into the air and into another pair of strong arms.

Naruto and Sasuke gasped as they looked at her.

"There's _TWO!!!??"_they yelled in unison.

"Yea."she said shakily.

Deidara shoved his hands in his clay and made a bird large enough to carry all of them, but small enough to fit in the crumbling hallway.

"This should be agile enough. Jump on, yeah!"he yelled.

They all skillfully made it onto the bird. Deidara pressed his chakra into the clay bid to fly faster than he'd ever gone before. He caught up to Sai and Ino and he jumped on as well.

He skillfully maneuvered the bird around the crumbling debris. Finally, they spotted a light at the end of the tunnel. Pushing the bird faster, they all cried out as they heard the building falling apart behind them.

They were so close to safety.

So close.

They soared through the hole and back into freedom. Sakura paled as she turned around and watched the rest of the base collapsing with her beloved still inside.

"ITACHI!!!!!"

Deidara stopped the bird and gathered her in his arms, holding her back from running back inside.

"Have faith, yeah."

Sakura clutched the crying babies to her and cried as she watched the dust settle. The base was demolished, and somewhere, Itachi was in the rubble.

"Itachi. Please…_please _be alright."

* * *

**Alrighty folks…that's the end of this chappie.**

**I tried realllyyy hard while writing the Sai and Ino part at the beginning. Tell me if you liked it ^o^**

**Yea, this fic is definitely almost done. So close till the end.**

**I hope you all liked this update. Took a little longer than I would have liked but better late then never ^o^**

**Please review. I know you want to push that button. Tehee…**

**Here's a little contest for you guys. Whoever can guess the names of the twins will get a little fanfic dedicated to them. Ofcourse, it will be ItaSaku. **

***HINT***** You have to look at previous chapters.**

**So yeah, if you can guess, you get a fanfiic. Yay!!!**

**Please review…**

**Much luv- Uchihacutie**


	23. Chapter 22

Sakura couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Because her heart was crushed along side her lover, lying under the rubble of Orochimaru's layer.

She didn't realize she was screaming until Deidara's arms encircled her, and rocked her silently.

The babies cried as well, as if they could sense their mother's distress. Eventually, Sakura ran out of tears and fell back, leaning into Deidara's embrace.

As the dust cleared, Miyoshi hid in the trees. She didn't know if Sakura could handle seeing her right now.

Yotachi appeared next to her.

"Mom?"he asked.

"I…I don't know…if everything they had will fall apart when she learns the truth. Look at us…we're almost identical…"she mumbled.

"Assuming he survived the collapse of course."he added.

Miyoshi glanced at him, slightly pale from worry.

"We'll find him, and he better be alive. No parent dies on their children's birthday…"she said.

Then they preceded to observe the field around them.

"Damnit…"she mumbled.

Yotachi looked at her in concern.

"Both Hyuga's are out of commission. That leaves Kakashi's tracking dogs, but I doubt his Sharingan left him with enough chakra for that…hmm…the bug user…no…they feed off of chakra….and I can't sense Itachi's anywhere…"she thought aloud.

"What about the artist?"he inquired.

"The pale one or the hot blonde?"she asked.

"Either."he clarified.

"Well…I guess we'll have to ask. So much for hiding, but we can't afford my nervous cowardess in this desperate time…crap boogers…"she mumbled.

She paled a bit more and wiped the sweat off her brow before appearing in front of Sakura and Deidara. Sakura's clenched eyelids opened and were suddenly wide with shock.

"M…M…Miyoshi? Sister…is that you?"she asked weakly, as if her very will had left her…which it sort of had, given the circumstances.

"Yes. I…I have a lot of explaining to do, but it is me…and well…"

Suddenly Sakura sprang up…albeit awkwardly with the babies, but managed to and locked her arms around Miyoshi, careful of her children. Miyoshi's eyes widened before she carefully returned the heartfelt gesture.

"My sister…Black Rose…."said Sakura, her words muffled.

"My sister, Cherry Blossom… …"she said.

"Like night and day."

"Water and fire…"

"Heaven and hell."

"But bound by our love…"

"Never to be separated…"

"But if that occurs…"

"We shall remain in our hearts…"

"Never forget…"

"And we will meet again…"

Deidara watched silently as they exchanged words that were obviously some kind of poem that they had made up in the past.

After they separated, they looked each other up and down. Then Sakura spoke.

"I have so much to tell you, Yoshi, and…I'm sure you do to…like…how you're here with me, now. Why the hell you vanished, why seem to know what's going on, why nobody's remotely surprised you're here…"she decided to trail of there.

"Yes, and when this whole poop pile is cleaned up, we'll finally have some time to talk. She gazed over at Sai and Ino, and saw how pale the blonde was.

"Yotachi?"

He appeared by here in an instant.

"Yes, Mother?"

Sakura's jaw dropped, and she fell back, letting Deidara catch her. It was just to much…

"Help Ino."

He nodded before tending to her.

"Now…lets try and find your boyfriend."

When he awoke, it was because of the pain. A white hot agony was pulsing around his entire body, to the point he thought he had died and was burning in hell.

He didn't bother crying out because it hurt to even open his mouth. He tried sucking in air and only managed to inhale dust and ended up coughing. He momentarily passed out at the pain he felt when his body jerked. Slowly, he took very short breaths, until he adjusted to the pain. Then he opened his eyes and looked around. He couldn't feel his entire body, and he knew that something was horribly wrong.

Could he had been paralyzed in the collapse? He attempted to move. His fingers twitched, and then he slowly began to move his arm. He could hardly feel his legs. They must have either been crushed or were the blood wasn't circulating properly. He tried not to think to much on that. Moving his head to the side, he looked around. Everything was dark. Looking up again, he realized he was completely closed in. Not good, because that meant he had no air pockets. He would suffocate at this rate. He contemplated praying, and then thought that Kami-sama probably wanted nothing to do with him. He was the murderer of his blood, the Akatsuki's top dog…

Licking his dry lips, he closed his eyes and accepted his fate. He was going to die.

"Sakura…I'm so sorry…"he rasped out.

He felt so tired. So so tired. He knew that if he took a short nap, it would be his last. Shifting his head, he felt it slide on something and knew he was bleeding. The silence was deafening, and he could hear his heart pounding frantically.

He was petrified…he didn't want to die.

And then he thought. It wasn't fair. Everything he did was for his brother's safety. He wanted so badly for his brother to love him again. He wanted another chance. He cursed himself for being a prodigy, a once in a lifetime miracle child, because his talent robbed him of everything he loved…

It wasn't fair.

His thoughts started jumbling together and he knew his time was almost up. He tried calming his breathes down. If he died, he wanted to go calmly.

Ba-dump.

Ba—dump.

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

"Sakura…my cherry blossom. My einjeru."

Ba-dump.

"Is anyone there…*cough*…I feel so alone…so…al…one…"

Ba-dump.

Ba-dump.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

And then he heard it.

"ITACHI! DAMNIT YOU BETTER BE ALIVE WHEREEVER YOU ARE! DO YOU HEAR ME! YOU'VE GOT TO WAILING BUNDLES OF JOY HERE WAITING FOR YOU! *sob sob* STAY ALIVE…JUST A LITTLE LONGER…please…"

It was her voice…

His eyes shot open and he groaned. He had to find a way to get them near he was. She sounded to far away. And the air was beginning to feel heavy. Time was running out. He tried to cry out but his voice was too raspy. It came out strangled and weak.

Clenching his fist, he glared at nothing in frustration. Shifting his legs as much as he could, he felt the rocks move. Hope restored, he tried moving them more. Suddenly, a crack sounded, and everything started shifting around him. More rubble started to fall and something unbearably heavy fell on his chest. He couldn't stifle the scream of raw agony as multiple ribs snapped under the pressure. Darkness.

Everybody's heads snapped in the direction of the shifting rubble. Sakura rushed over to the area with as much speed as she could muster.

"Itachi?"she called out.

Nothing.

She began to walk around, moving farther away calling his name. The babies cries suddenly intensified, and they were screaming so hard their faces were blood red. Sakura looked down at them in worry.

"Shhh…shh…it's alright."

They didn't calm down.

She sighed and started walking further away, and the screams became shrill.

"What's wrong?"she asked, her voice frantic. Their cries didn't sound healthy.

She tried rocking them and stepped closer to where she heard the sound. Their cries calmed down slightly.

She frowned, and walked farther again, and they screamed louder.

Slowly, she started walking back to where she had heard the noise of the shifting rubble, and their cried became softer and softer until she was where she started. Their watery eyes stared up at her as if waiting for something. Then the thought struck her.

Dig.

She dropped to her knees and grabbed pieces of rock and began to chug them at a frantic pace. She felt people beside her, and saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Deidara digging with her. Akamaru ran over and sniffed. He began barking loudly, wagging his tail. That gave everyone who was awake the determination. They all gather around and aided Sakura in lifting the boulders and other debris. Day turned to night as they dug, until they began to collapse from exhaustion. Sakura only stopped to feed the babies and went back to digging.

"We should just stop. There's no way he can still be alive."

They looked at Kiba.

"Kiba, what a horrible thing to say."said Tenten, wiping her brow. She was sitting on the ground panting for breath.

"I hate to say this, but the chance of him being alive at this point is highly unlikely. If the debris was packed this tight he must have twenty minutes of oxygen left at the least."

Majority of them nodded and murmured in agreement.

Lee frowned and jumped up, returning to the pile and began digging harder.

Miyoshi glared at the crowd.

"Screw you…what happened to Konoha's Will of Fire? Geez…everything went to hell when I left didn't it?"

"When you left? Are you telling me you left willingly…and you didn't have the decency to say goodbye?"

Miyoshi paled and looked at Sakura who's cheeks which were already flushed from fatigue, turned an even darker shade a red in anger.

"No…Sakura…it's not like that…"

"Save it…let me focus on finding my love."she spat and continued ripping at the rubble.

Yotachi stood up.

"Mother…there aren't anymore chakra pills, everyone is drained…and those who might have more are still unconscious."

"Crud. What about the blonde?"

"It's up to her whether she saves the baby and herself or not."

"Uhhhh."she moaned in frustration.

"He…he's…st…still…ali…alive…"

All turned to the timid woman clutching her side and barely holding herself up. Deidara rushed over to her and helped her stand.

Her Byakugan was activated, and she stared at the demised compound.

"Barely…and his…ch…chakra levels are so….so low."

"Let me handle this."

All turned to Naruto.

"At first I didn't want to Sakura…because he's always the reason you cry…but now I realize that the tears won't stop until he's safe. KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUSTU!"

The Naruto's were endless.

"AHHHHH!"

They all screamed in unison and began tearing through at a break neck pace until. Sakura watched in awe, and smile finally making it's way onto her face.

Suddenly Hinata cried out.

"STOP!"

When the dust cleared, they saw a pale bloody hand.

Sakura quickly crawled over to it and clenched it.

It was cold.

She shivered and clenched it tighter.

Nothing.

"Oh Kami…are we too late?"said a voice Sakura didn't care in recognizing.

Then the hands fingers clenched hers hard, in desperation.

"Naruto! He's awake! Keep digging!"

He was hardly awake, but he could recognize the smooth feel of her skin anywhere. He held her hand as his lifeline as his body began to tremble. His lips were turning blue as his lungs squeezed themselves in desperation.

'_I'm so close to her…so close…I can't lose now…so close…'_

They kept going at it.

Sakura watched as Itachi's hand began trembling rather violently, as if in deep agony. She immediately recognized the signs.

"He's suffocating? Naruto…please!"

The Naruto's suddenly stopped and all but two vanished and began frantically forming the familiar blue ball of chakra in Naruto's hand. He let out a battle cry and slammed his palm into the rubble scattering and large chunk until Itachi's face became visible.

Itachi's eyes shot open as he gasped in breathes and had a major coughing fit, hacking up blood as well.

Sakura immediately began kissing him all over…well…what wasn't covered up. Itachi's eyes were half lidded as he took in his surroundings.

He let out a small moan…something completely unlike him.

"Oh…"

Sakura looked at the blood caked around his head.

"Oh Itachi…you're almost free. Keep fighting."

"So tired…"his words were muffled.

Sakura watched as he fought sleep. She needed to give him a distraction. Something to keep him occupied while. She felt something shift on her on her stomach. The babies. She quickly gestured to them.

"Itachi…look at our creations. We did this….we made it…look how beautiful they are, Itachi…aren't they beautiful?"

He didn't answer. No. He couldn't. Everything around him disappeared as he stared at the two pairs of shiny viridian eyes that looked back at him.

It was…amazing.

An experience he couldn't put together in thoughts and words. There was no way to describe the…feeling…

She was right. They _were_ beautiful…

Deidara couldn't help but smile. He had the same reaction. He looked over at Naruto who was sprawled out on the grass, gasping for breath, a large smile on his face.

Miyoshi's eyes turned black, as did Yotachi's.

"Don't mess up brat…this is the last of my energy."

"Yes Mother."

They both murmured a low chant and performed multiple hand signs at a blurring pace. A black hole appeared above Itachi, and any rubble withing 50 feet of him vanished.

The hole disappeared as suddenly as it came, and Yotachi caught his mother and set her on the ground.

Sakura gasped at the extent of the damage. Blood was _everywhere_. She looked back at Itachi's face. He was still staring at the children.

'_How are we going to get back…we can't spend the night…he won't make it…and people need to be treated…my chakra is still recovering…damnit the one moment I really need my skills…and I'm useless.'_

Itachi gasped and clenched his eyes shut. His body shivered violently.

She stroked his hair and tried to soothe him.

"I know it hurts…but please keep fighting."

He could only nod.

Then, out of no where, sand began pooling around Itachi's body. Sakura gasped as Gaara appeared, and a large group of his shinobi with him.

"I owe you and Konoha more than I can ever hope to repay. This is a small dent in the debt."he said.

With that, he gathered sand around her too.

He gestured toward his fellow shinobi and they all gathered and injured Konoha ninja. The ones who didn't stay behind.

"You are to search for Orochimaru's body."

"HAI!"they shouted.

"The rest of you need to come closer. This is a last resort teleportation jutsu, as it lowers my chakra considerably."

They all complied, and tried to stay calm as the sand slowly enclosed them in a dome. Itachi watched as the moon disappeared. When he saw again, they were in Konoha. Temari and Kankuro caught Gaara as he stumbled forward. He wan't unconscious, just worn out.

Tsunada and a large amount of medic ninja and stretchers awaited them. The rest of the ninja were posted all around the village, keeping the streets empty. Itachi was lowered on stretcher. He faded in and out of consciousness as the made their way to the hospital at a fast pace.

He watched as Sakura kept up with the entourage, even with her wounds and the weight of the twins. Her pink hair flying around her flushed cheeks and wide green eyes were so beautiful, even if her distressed expression was less to be desired. He faintly registered being taken into the emergency room.

Sakura was stroking his hair and murmuring comforting words.

"I wish I could do the surgery, but I'm in no condition."

He nodded weakly.

By now the pain was so intense his brain ceased to register it as a last defense.

He barely felt them place the breathing mask over his mouth and a somewhat sweet scent filled his nose. Things were blurry now and he tried his hardest to focus on Sakura.

She noticed his alarmed expression and held his hand to comfort him. He clenched hard.

"Don't fight it…"

His eyes started to droop.

"Now you can finally sleep Itachi. Sweet dreams, and I love you."

Darkness.

I haven't updated since February. *cowers behind overturned table*

I am sorry.

Firstly…I am failing chemistry…so I'm desperately studying.

Next. My SAT's are coming up next week. Pray for me please.

Thirdly…my internet shut down on me and just came back…so I could only log in from my phone. Thank God for iPhone…by the way. So this had been my current schedule.

Monday-school, chem tutoring, piano lessons, hw, shower, sleep.

Tuesday-school, math tutoring, 2 hours of math SAT prep, hw, shower, sleep.

Wed-school, chem tutoring, hw, choir rehearsal, shower, sleep

Thurs-school, 2 hours of SAT prep, hw, shower, sleep

Fri-school, 2 hours of SAT prep, church, sleep

Sat-my only day to myself…and I am so worn out by then…good Lord…

Sun-church

So yea…I'm so busy and tired and all that crap. But hey, that's life.

So now it's currently 4:17 am and counting and I am typing this up to post for you patient readers of mine…

I deserve to be stoned. -_-

Oh yea…many thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter, and my new reviwer and friend **MLIA-anime** for her sudden bombardment of reviews. Those really made my day :D

Yea…we're seriously nearing the end on this…

Honestly though…I think this fanfic is a bunch of crap…hopefully the other ones I write or better…

**REVIEWS ARE COAL…BECAUSE THIS TRAIN IS SERIOUSLY SLOWING DOWN AND NEEDS TO BE RE PUMPED…DEAD BUTT GUYS…I REALLY NEED REVIEWS AS THEY ARE INSPIRING AND REALLY GIVE ME THE MOTIVATION TO CONTINUE. IMAGINE SMORES WITHOUT MARSHMELLOWS…REVIEWS ARE MY MARSHMELLOWS…SO PLEASE… =/**

Much luv,

Uchihacutie ^o^


	24. Chapter 23

"Sakura, just take a seat. As my apprentice I'm sure you know that with my staff your babies are just fine. I just need to…discuss some things with you."

Sakura plopped in the chair before glaring at the busty woman before her.

"If you had just let me and Itachi be...none of this would've happened! Now my son is branded with Orochimaru's mark and will suffer. Why? Why couldn't you just leave us alone?"

Tsunade slammed her hands on her desk.

"Because, Sakura! He's one of the world's most wanted ruthless S class clan murdering ninja! That's why! Aside from the fact that he's the Akatsuki's little watchdog, I don't even know why you're questioning my concerns! If not for you than it's my responsibility to the damn village!"she yelled out.

"We didn't even have to stay here! We could have left!"Sakura retaliated.

"With the next Uchiha heirs…of course not Sakura. Every happy ending comes with sacrifice."

Sakura glared and clutched the handles of the chair she was sitting in. Tsunade sighed and flopped down into her chair, reaching under her table for some sake. She poured a glass and offered it to Sakura.

"No thanks…"

Tsunade shrugged and downed the glass, helping herself to another before speaking.

"Firstly…are you alright?"she asked softly.

"Mentally, I can think straight. Emotionally, I'm a wreck. Physically, I just want to curl up beside my lover and sleep…"

Tsunade nodded.

"Alright…next…Itachi is in major surgery…the only reason I'm not there is because I needed a break, and that I need to talk to you. Shizune is there now. Now…let's talk about Deidara…"

"He stays."said Sakura.

"The village elders are in an uproar right now. We have three S class Akatsuki criminals sitting in our village comfortably…you see the situation I'm in right? Then there is the fact that your sister, who vanished years ago has suddenly returned, with a son."

Sakura panicked.

"Where is she!"

"She's fine, Sakura. We have her in a comfortable room with Deidara right now."

Sakura nodded, when out of nowhere, the very two appeared in Tsunade's office.

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temple before addressing them.

"Please sit down."

They sat on both sides of Sakura, leaving her in the middle.

"Alright, Miyoshi. Let's start with you. Why are you here?"asked Tsunade.

"I need to speak with Sakura. We have…a lot to discuss."she answered.

"Well. I need to know why you supposedly vanished…"said the Hokage.

"Well, considering the fact that my boyfriend was ordered to destroy his clan, and-

"Boyfriend! Itachi was your BOYFRIEND!"screamed Sakura.

"Did you just say he was ordered?"asked Tsunade.

Miyoshi gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oops…that…wasn't supposed to slip out…"

Deidara tried to stay calm. He was in dangerous territory right now…

"Umm…hey…since this looks like it's going to be a long conversation confession sort of thing…can I get my stuff done first and leave you to your…catching up, yeah?"

Sakura was pacing the room in rage. Tsunade reached under the table a pulled out her bottle of sake again. She poured and downed her third glass since the meeting had began, before turning to Deidara.

"What do you need?"

"Can I visit Sephira? I never got to…say goodbye…"he said.

Sakura turned to him, and smiled the smile of someone who seemed broken.

"I'm sure you can…"she said.

Tsunade sighed again before walking over to him.

"I'll bring you there. I'll be right back, Harunos."

She and Deidara vanished, leaving the Haruno sisters by themselves.

Sakura turned to Miyoshi, her fists clenched with rage.

"So…care to explain?"she asked.

Miyoshi sighed and spoke.

"Itachi and I met when we were thirteen. I was cocky and rude and he didn't like that, so we fought for a bit, and he won, of course. Later, I went to my favorite spot, and realized it was in Uchiha grounds. He found me there, and I showed him my power, and then…we just…started hanging out more often. We kissed a couple times, and we had sex once. Then he told me a about the plan. You see, the Uchiha clan were planning a takeover, and Danzo and the other elders found out about it, so he ended up being a double agent. He was ordered to destroy the clan. When I found this out, I was…..appalled. How could any supposedly loving village ask a thirteen year old boy to slaughter his family and heritage and live life as an 'innocent' fugitive? I was so disgusted at the village, and I was horrified to see that Itachi was going to do it. We talked long and hard that day, and I could already see that Itachi was crumbling from the inside. I…made a decision. I told him that I couldn't bear to live in a village that preached one thing, but chose to annihilate a clan that had about 100 guilty and 300 innocent. Did they think that the children and babies were plotting to kill the Hokage as well? So I packed my things and said my goodbye. Itachi understood, even though my decision was ripping the two of us apart on the inside, but I couldn't stay. I just couldn't. I had been to his village, watched the children play, heard them laugh and cry. I couldn't bear to see them choking on their own blood."

When she finished her story, the two sisters were crying.

"Sakura…I am so so sorry. But…I had to leave. I wanted to take you with me so bad, but I was just a genin. There was no way I could have protected you. And thank Kami I didn't, because what I went through was horror. You were eight, and as an elder sister, it would have been cruel to bring you along on a journey you couldn't finish."

Sakura wanted to say something, but she was crying to hard to even think straight.

Itachi was innocent?

Her sister ran away?

All this time, she never realized how these events were so connected. She looked at Miyoshi hard, and realized they could be mistaken as twins.

Did Itachi make that mistake. Was that what he saw in her.

Her sister?

Tsunade stood at the door, having heard the whole confession. Needless to say, she was shocked out of her mind.

"So, that's it huh?"mumbled Sakura.

Miyoshi stared at her sister in confusion.

"What do you mean?"she asked.

"All this time, Itachi wasn't in love with me. He was in love with you, my look alike!"

Miyoshi stood up and did something nobody expected. She slapped Sakura with as much strength as she could muster. Sakura gasped as she toppled over her chair and onto the floor. Miyoshi walked and hoisted Sakura up by the neck of her shirt, bringing her to eye level.

"How dare you make that selfish accusation? How dare you!"she screamed.

Sakura stared at Miyoshi in shock.

"Do you know how he looks at you? Do you know how much he went through for you? Do you know how many times he barely escaped death for you? He risked his reputation, and was almost destroyed my the Akatsuki. He spent days without rest as we searched for you while you were with Orochimaru. He expended the last bit of chakra he had to save you, and this is the conclusion you come to? He forgot about me! He pushed me to the last parts of his memories. I am nothing compared to what he thinks of you. He loves you damn it, and for someone who feels like he doesn't deserve anything for what he's done, that's a huge accomplishment. He doesn't feel as if he deserves you, and yet he fought for that love anyway. _We _are a thing of the past. _You _are a love that will last for an eternity!"

Sakura didn't know what to say. How could she have ever thought that Itachi used her like that? She was roughly set back on her feet as her sister panted in anger.

"I'm sorry."Sakura whispered.

"You better be, and when Itachi wakes up, you guys should talk about these things, alright? Get it off both of your chest so you can finally get some peace."said Miyoshi.

Tsunade chose that point in time to reveal herself.

"Alright ladies, now that that's settled, Miyoshi."

The two turned in shock as Tsunade sat herself back down at her desk.

"Oh don't look so surprised. You guys were to into your conversation that the village could have been attacked and you wouldn't know."

They both blushed.

"Anyways, Miyoshi. Is there a mission scroll Itachi had that has proof?"

"Yes."

"Well, where is it?"

"I don't know. He might have destroyed it…"

Tsunade and Sakura frowned.

"Pray that he didn't, because we're going to need that to go to trial."

*&^%$#!#$%^&*(&^%$#!#$%^&*&^%$#!#$%^&*&^%$##$%^&*(&^%$

Deidara stared at the cold body of the little green haired girl. She was just as he remembered her, only dead.

He saw the guards watching him closely.

"Hey, mind giving me a little space, yeah?"

If they heard him, they didn't show it.

He rolled his eyes before taking out the vial from Orochimaru's layer. He re-read it to make sure, and then took out the needle he had taken along side it. He barely dodged the hand that almost knocked the vial to the ground.

"Are you nuts, yeah!"

"Hand that over, Akatsuki. Now."

Deidara completely ignored him and pushed the needle into the vial, sucking up it's contents.

"Akatsuki."said another Anbu.

"Shut. Up, yeah, and let me bring her back to life."

He pushed the needle to squeeze out the bubbles before carefully approaching the pale and still girl. He followed the instructions carefully and injected it into the exact spot as written. He took a few steps back.

And then he waited.

Nothing happened for about a minute.

"Guess it didn't work Aka-

And then the color started to rapidly return to her. Her cheeks became flushed and her hair didn't look as dull and stringy. She twitched and then convulsed violently for a few moments before falling still again.

"Sephira?"whispered Deidara.

Then she gasped and arched up, curling her toes and clenching her fingers. Her eyes shot open and regained their dolor of bright pink. She let out a ear shattering scream ad Deidara rushed over to her and called her name frantically.

She stopped screaming and lay panting, looking all over, and then her eyes settled on him.

"Deidei…"she whispered, and then started to cry.

He embraced her and whispered comforting words for a while until she calmed down.

"Are you okay, yeah?"he asked her.

She nodded.

"Do you want to see your mom?"

She nodded a bit more vigorously this time. He scooped her up and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her out, but not before sticking his tongue at the Anbu first.

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The first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes was that it was blindingly white. He wondered if he was in heaven, but then he realized that was probably impossible. He closed is eyes again and took deep breathes. There was some sort of mask on his face administering fresh air. He heard a constant beep and figured that there was a machine monitoring his vitals.

There were sounds of movement in his room. He opened his eyes a bit more slowly this time and took a moment to adjust before looking around. There was a nurse recording something from the machine, and she gasped when she noticed he was awake.

"Uchiha-san. I see you're awake."

Her voice was soft and she seemed a bit nervous."

He nodded slightly.

"You weren't supposed to awaken for at least a week. You got out of surgery an hour ago."

He moved to sit up, which proved to be extremely difficult. The nurse walked over and showed him a button to adjust the bed. After he finished, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He was so winded after such a simple exercise…

"Uchiha-san. There are a few tests I would like to conduct. Please comply and if they're to hard tell me."she said.

He nodded again.

"Please try and move your legs."

He placed his hands on the handles of the bed and grunted slightly. His legs seemed so heavy. He finally managed to lift them both up, barely.

"Wonderful. This was to ensure you didn't lose your mobility. You see, your legs were almost damaged beyond compare. Please be sure to thank Shizune."she said kindly, offering a smile.

That was good news. He'd be useless without his legs.

"Ms…*cough*"he rasped out.

She came closer.

"Water…."

"Oh, of course you must be thirsty. Here."

She picked up a glass and carefully removed the oxygen mask from his mouth, and helped him drink the glass. He finished it quickly before laying back down.

"Now, Uchiha-san. As I stated before, you should not be awake. You're body needs rest, so I'm going to sedate you and let you sleep."

"No. I would like to see Sakura and the babies."

She smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Uchiha-san. I really wish I could bring them here, but protocol is absolute. You need at least 5 hours more rest."

He shook his head no. "May I see Sakura alone then."he whispered out. He felt to weak.

Suddenly, another nurse burst in quite loudly.

"Oh, I see the murderer is awake. "she said coldly, before continuing. "Sedate him. He needs to sleep."

"Uchiha-san would like to see Sakura first."

"So?"

And the other nurse took a needle and injected it into a vial, sucking in an amount and heading to Itachi, only to be blocked.

"Hinako. Out of the way."

"I refuse you to force him down. Whatever status he has right now are temporarily negated in this hospital until further notice. I have been directly ordered by Lady Hokage herself to treat this man with respect, as we do all our patients. You can proceed if you like, but I don't think you would like to know what would happen should I tell about the way you treated the father of her newborn babies."

The other nurse took a step back.

"Please hand over the needle. I will do it myself. Good day."said Hinako.

The other nurse glared before giving in and swiftly making her way out.

"Hinako?"he asked.

"Yes, Uchiha-san. It's me. Remember Anbu training together?"she asked softly.

"What happened?"he asked.

"Well, my team was taken out on a dangerous mission, I couldn't save them. So I decided to become a medic. That way, if another disaster happened like that again, I could be of more use, instead of watching them die."

He nodded wearily.

"You really need to rest. Can I sedate you now?"

He nodded.

She slowly injected it in. Itachi could feel the medicine rapidly doing it's job.

"How do you know Sakura?"he asked tiredly.

"We are coworkers. Good friends. She's a spitfire, you know. I like to think quietly of a solution. She uses her temper to get her way. But it never fails."

Itachi tried to keep listening, but after a while, all he could hear was his heartbeat, lulling him to sleep.

"Rest well, Itachi."

_)(*&^%$#!#$%^&*()(*&^%$##$%^&*()(*&^%$#!#$%^&*()(*&^%$#!

Sakura stared at them in shock.

"H…how?"

"To make a long story short, I checked the whole layer until I found his other experiments, found this vial, and revived her, yeah?"

Sephira was wrapped in Sakura's arms. She kissed her all over.

"Deidara….thank you."

He blushed.

"Well, I rarely do nice things. Don't expect it to often, yeah."he mumbled.

She smiled at him before turning her attention back to Tsunade.

"I've sent Sasuke to search the compound, and if he found any secret scroll, he should read it."said Tsunade.

"But, he'll be alone if he finds out. What if he-

"Sakura. This is the type of thing he should be alone to find out. Let him do this by himself."ordered Tsunade.

Sakura nodded.

"Is Itachi out of surgery?"

"Yes, Hinako was with him. He woke up an hour after, but as protocol states, he needs much more rest than that. We put him back to sleep, willingly, I might add. So what I need you guys to do is settle in. It is well into the AM and frankly, Sakura, you look like shi-

"Thank you, Lady Tsubade."Sakura interrupted.

The group laughed a bit.

"Tsunade, yeah."

She chose to ignore the fact that he added no title to her name.

"Yes, boy?"

He frowned.

"Where is Kisame?"

"He is already where you guys will be staying. Sakura, you will be in the hospital room with your babies.

"Alright."she said.

She was to tired to say anything else. The group separated after a ten minute goodbye session in which Sephira refused to leave her mother's side until they just let her go with her.

Sakura was vaguely aware of reaching her designated room. She could see to sleeping bundles, and she gave them both kisses before collapsing onto the bed.

Sephira peeked into the double crib.

"You both are beautiful. Your big sister won't let anything else happen to you. I promise."

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**YAY! Sephira's back! Itachi is safe! Sakura is…..dead tired…umm…yea. So, I have about a chapter and an epilogue left…at least that's what I hope to do. **

**Why did I take so long, you ask?**

**Well…**

**1.I am a dreadfully lazy person. I know, that's a BS excuse, but it's the sorry truth ladies and gents. =/**

**2.I had the most atrocious case of writer's block. I had to search through my other chapters until I found the direction I wanted to head in. I had almost forgotten about Deidara's other mission to revive Sephira.**

**And NO folks, Itachi did not have ANY romantic background with my OC Hinako. They were just on the same Anbu training squad. Which means she is older than him. So no angry review please.**

**Speaking of which, I almost have 200 reviews! I am so ecstatic! WOOT WOOT! THE ROOF, THE ROOF, THE ROOF IS ON FIYA!**

**Umm….yea…**

**So if you check my profile page there is a description of one story to come, and a small preview of the other. Both are ItaSaku.**

**And I just put up a FF7 one, RenoElena, cuz Reno is a sexy beast…yea…It's called Fight the Past, but I'm about to change the title, me thinks. So if you're a FF7 fan, and you think Reno is hot stuff, please check it out. ^o^**

**Than they're the other ItaSaku oneshots if you're interested.**

**I hope you are all enjoing you're summer vacation. I am. I'm gonna see a Jonas Brothers concert. Yay…**

**But yea, that's all for now folks. I'm really sorry about the wait. Stay safe. And please REVIEW! **

**Much Luv, **

_Uchihacutie_


	25. Chapter 24

**AU: SAT's. ACT's. College applications. Resumes. Reccommendation letters. College essays. Community service. Math tutoring. MAJOR WRITER'S BLOCK.**

**Need I say more?**

**Well…yea.**

**Feel free to burn me at the stake. This took what…3 moths, maybe a bit more? Totally beyond unacceptable. I'm pretty mad at myself. But yea, it's 3:06 A.M. there was no way I was gonna stall anymore. If it makes you feel any better, I tried to make this chapter longer. I think it is…everything looks kinda weird when I'm this tired…blagh =.= Well, here it is…enjoy :) And please please please please please please please please please REVIEW. **

**GASP! Speaking of which, I hit 200 reviews! ZOMG! ZOMaGoodness! Thank you guys much! I LOVE YOU! Oh, and by the way, if any of u have a gaia account, mine is itachiroxmysox. Let us chat…yea…well…on to the chapter :D **

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Sasuke held the scroll in his hand as he walked toward the empty Uchiha compound. Why had Tsunade given him this scroll…he had thoroughly searched the compound…there was nothing there. And now he needed to find this document. It had better be something shockingly amazing for him to search high and low in the middle of the night.

It's a good thing he was a light sleeper. The faster he finished this, the better.

He had stopped living in the compound soon after he came back from Orochimaru. He wouldn't ever forget that day. As much as he denied it…he had needed his team.

**FLASHBACK**

_Sasuke looked at his old home. So empty and hollow. Dust was on everything. It looked exactly the same, except for one thing. No more laughter. No more shouts, new sales, fresh fruit and vegetables. No more children asking for this and that, no more fathers working, no more mothers grocery shopping. It was empty. Everyone was dead._

_Well, not exactly empty. The Anbu assigned to watch him lingered in the shadows, surveying his every move. He walked silently to the main house, where he had lived._

_He entered and waved his hand in front of his face, blowing away the dust. The first thing he did was open the windows. He felt like he was suffocating. He needed to do something. Anything. So he spent the next three hours cleaning the mansion from top to bottom; not a speck of dust was left. But it didn't seem clean enough. So he did it again. Now there was nothing left to do. It was so quiet…deathlike. There was a hollow feeling building in his chest…expanding._

_It hurt._

_He never felt so alone._

_He was an Uchiha. He didn't need anything, so why did he feel like he had nothing? Nothing at all?_

_His breathing became harsher and he felt cold and dizzy. He fell back against a wall and slid down to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest and keeping his head down. He stayed still like that for hours._

_The Anbu outside knew something was wrong after the second hour passed, but none of them had the care for him to do anything about it. Finally, another three hours went by and not a single change in his state. _

_A female spoke up._

"_We should tell the Hokage."_

_The others nodded in a nonchalant manner. She shook her head before vanishing, reappearing in the Hokage's office. Coincidentally, the rest of team seven was there too._

"_Lady Hokage, please excuse my interruption, but there is something wrong with Uchiha Sasuke."_

_The occupants in the room stood up._

"_What's wrong with him?"shouted Naruto._

"_He cleaned the mansion in three hours once, and right after proceeded to do it again. Then he took up a fetal position in a corner and hasn't moved since."she spoke softly._

_Sakura and Tsunade's medic mode switched on._

"_How long has he been in that state?"asked Tsunade._

"_I…he…"_

_Sakura growled. "How long!"she shouted._

"_A little over five hours."she whispered._

_She flinched as a tough hand connected to her cheek, ripping off the mask in the process. The female's head shot to the side._

"_Why didn't you say anything? You were ordered to report the moment something was amiss."said Tsunade, her fist clenched._

"_I apologize, Lady Hokage. It was selfish and rude of me to let personal hatred get in the way of my mission. That is why I came."_

"_I should punish you, but you swallowed your pride and came anyway. The rest on this mission, however, will be severely punished. Kakashi, take your team there. The longer you wait, the more Sasuke suffers. And…here."_

_Tsunade handed a scroll to Kakashi._

"_Give that scroll the Anbu in charge. Now go!"_

_They took off without a moments hesitation. When they arrived, Kakashi handed the scroll to the Anbu in charge. Said person read, and cursed. They had been 'relieved' of their mission. _

_Inside was pitch black. Not a shred of light was present. They slowly entered._

"_Naruto…don't yell. Stay calm and quiet."said Sakura. _

_Kakashi sighed wearily. _

"_He's over there."he whispered._

"_Who's there?"asked Sasuke, his voice strained._

"_Sasuke? Sasuke, it's just us. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi. You know us, don't you?"_

_Naruto turned on a small light, illuminating the place dimly._

_They all looked at Sasuke. He was shivering violently, and clutching himself so tightly as if he were about to fall apart._

_Sakura cursed lightly and slowly approached him. She felt his head, frowning when he flinched away from her._

_He was feverish and clammy. And he had been like this for hours. Not good._

"_Don't touch me…"he whispered, curling up more and trying to move further back into the corner, away from them._

"_Surround him."said Sakura. Kakashi and Naruto sat beside him, and Sakura kneeled in front._

"_No…"whispered Sasuke._

"_Sasuke, look at me."_

_He shook his head, breathing harshly._

"_No Sasuke. I will not take no for an answer. I need you to look at me now."_

_Slowly, Sasuke lifted his head up and gazed into Sakura's eyes. He was deathly pale and had deep bags under his eyes. He needed help._

"_Good Sasuke. You're doing very good."she said, smiling softly._

_They watched as he loosened up a bit. _

"_Alright, I have another job for you. Can you do it?"_

_Said boy nodded softly._

"_Look to your left, and look to your right. Do you see Naruto and Kakashi next to you?"she asked._

_He did as she said and then nodded again._

"_Good job Sasuke. I'm really proud of you. You see all of these people around you Sasuke. Do you know what that means?"_

"…_no…"he rasped out._

"_It means that you aren't alone Sasuke. No…keep looking at me. I need you to understand. You are NOT alone. We are you're friends, and we're here to help."she said._

_Sasuke was shaking harder than before. He timidly reached his hand out toward Sakura. She gently held his outstretched hand, allowing him to slowly pull her to him. As much as she was angry with him, she knew he needed this. Badly. She wrapped her arms around him while pulling him to her chest._

"_It's alright Sasuke, you'll be fine."she whispered softly._

**END FLASHBACK**

He frowned at the memory. He was so…so stupid. Why was he treating Sakura so horribly? She did everything for him…and even though she went and fell in love with his murderer brother, she still didn't deserve the treatment.

But how could he formally apologize? He had no idea how to make it up to her…at all.

Deciding to think about it later, he focused on the task at hand. Finding whatever the hell he was supposed to find. So he searched. And searched. And searched some more. And came up with nothing. Damn it, he was tired. How important could this document be? He activated his Sharingan, and for some odd reason, he felt a pull. It was a feeling he couldn't describe, but he just suddenly knew where to look. He followed the invisible path and ended up in a part of the Uchiha district he didn't know existed. Then he began to dig. When he didn't find anything, his digging became more frantic, until his fingernails were caked with dirt and blood. This was…something important. He had to find it. Now. And then he saw the edge of a scroll sticking out of the dirt. He pulled it up and wiped off the grim as best as he could, before opening it. Slowly, his eyes scanned the documents.

…

…

…

And Sasuke's world began to crack and shatter.

Top Secret? Mission? Rebellion? Annihilate? Itachi?

It was obviously a lie…I mean, how could something as horrid as this possibly be true? There was no reason…it couldn't be…it made no sense. Horrible horrible lies…What rebellion? Nope. He wouldn't believe it. He wouldn't, because then, all of this would have been for nothing. All of the suffering, blaming the wrong people, the point of his existence…null and void. There was no way his older brother had been used in such a despicable way to destroy some hogwash threat of rebellion. No. Way.

And then he saw the Third Hokage's signature. And the signatures of the council. They had approved of it. This WAS real. This DID happen…it wasn't his bother's fault…the clan…bought it….. on themselves?

Darkness.

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Sakura shot up from the bed she was laying on. Something wasn't right. She quickly got up, shaking of her vertigo and staggered to the crib. The babies were fine. She looked at the bed next to her and saw Sephira sleeping peacefully.

So what was it? Who was it? It wasn't Naruto…the whole village would know if he was in trouble. All of her friends were in medical treatment or had been treated earlier. Then she remembered the long talk in Tsunade's office a couple hours prior. Sasuke would be at the compound right about…now…

"Sasuke…"she whispered.

She quickly grabbed a blanket from the stack in a cupboard and threw it on over her hospital gown. Then she put on her ninja sandals and her headband before running out.

Sasuke needed her right now. Badly. She could feel it. All sense of time flew by, and before she knew it, she was standing in an unknown clearing, where she saw Sasuke's limp body collapsed on the ground beside a document of some sort and a pile of dirt.

He had found it. And it had broken him.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she let her chakra seep out slowly to alert him of her presence. Then she slowly walked to where he lay, and kneeled down. His eyes were wider than she had ever seen them, and vacant. She lifted her hand and slowly stroked his hair in a motherly fashion.

They sat like that for a considerable amount of time. She never ceased in her actions, and he never made any motion to show he even knew she was there.

"You know, when I was a child, still naïve, I was still aware that not all was well at home."

Sakura paused in her caress, startled at his voice.

"You can keep doing that."he said.

She continued.

"Itachi only smiled around me…and even then it seemed strained. Father was always angry. Mother was always tense, as if waiting for a damn to blow. Father always used to push and force Itachi to do things, and suddenly, he backed off. Mother still tried to play the content Uchiha wife, but her shoulders were always tense, eyes teary, smiles fake and worn. It was…weird. Other families were happy, and they looked at my family with envy, wishing they had our life. But…home wasn't…perfect. I had never measured up to my brother, no matter how hard I tried. Father was always disappointed. I used to cry every night, and in the days work my hardest so I wouldn't bring shame upon the family. One night, my mother came into my room and slept with me. She held me in her arms and told me how much she loved me. I'd never felt so warm and loved. The next day, she made an amazing breakfast, full of tomatoes…my favorites. Then she kissed me about 10 times and looked at me like she was going to cry. I left. After the academy, I stayed late to train. Later than usual. And when I came back…when I came back…everyone was dead. There was blood everywhere…children sprawled on the ground, throats slit. Woman shielding their babies, and men with faces frozen in terror. I…there are no words to describe how I felt. And then I ran the fastest I could home. All I could think about was my family. Were they safe? Were they still alive? And in the back of my mind, I wondered if I was next. I made it home and slammed open the door, to see my parents standing side by side. My mother told me to run and then…and then…she was slashed across her back right after my father. There was so much blood, and then I saw my brother with a bloodied katana in his hand. The equation was simple. 2 plus 2 equals 4. He killed them. But I couldn't understand it. It made no sense. He chased me, and told me that he did it to test his strength. Then there was images and darkness. I awoke in the hospital."

Sakura listened closely, tearing up slightly. She continued running her hand through his hair, and lifted his head onto her lap.

"My whole life, I tried my hardest to be the best at everything I did. At first for my father, and then for the revenge. I worked so hard…_so hard_. Morning, noon, night, and everything in between. My purpose was to avenge my innocent family. And now…it says that he's innocent? That they made my brother slaughter our family, kicked him out of Konoha, and let him live with the guilt and shame? All by himself. Konoha is supposed to be a place of peace and love, equal opportunity. Are they really this corrupt behind the scenes? Ok. They were planning a coup…but…what about the children, the babies? Huh? Why did they all have to die…and why did I have to live!"

His voice started to crack and he suddenly sat up, his eyes wild.

"I was the only one left! Everyone else died choking on their own blood and I had to live with it! I wish he killed me, because all life has bought me was disappointment! And then Kami decides to drop a bomb just to reiterate how worthless I really am. It freakin decides to reveal the truth so far in my life after I burned all I knew and cared for for some misplaced revenge! Did the damn 3rd Hokage not see how miserable I was? How hurt and alone! Did everyone just expect me to up and forget all that I knew being destroyed in a few hours! How dare they! How dare they!"

Sakura watched silently as he broke apart piece by piece. His mind was as fragile as glass right now, and it seemed like some otherworldly force was throwing rocks at it.

"So what was all this for? Why was I even born into this horrible decrepit world full of agony and despair? I didn't ask for this. Why couldn't I have been a normal child with normal parents in this damned village? Why did I have to be born in the 'amazing', the 'perfect' Uchiha clan, and not some freaking non overbearing clan? Why did they make my brother do this? How could they? It's not fair…it's not fair….IT'S NOT FAIR! What is the point of my LIFE! Why am I here! Why did…how can I…what am I going to do, Sakura. What am I supposed to say…Kami I can't even think…I just…I just…feel so alone."

He sank to his knees and started brutally punching the ground, ignoring the cracking of his fingers and the bloody scrapes it was causing. The only pain he felt was directed at his heart.

"Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT ALL!"he screamed before bursting into despaired sobs, clutching and ripping at his hair.

Sakura hugged his head to her chest as he screamed.

"Oh Sasuke…"she whispered.

Sasuke tried his hardest but he couldn't stop. They just kept flowing, and he hated the way he hiccupped like some child, but he was hurting so badly…

"Shhh…Sasuke…"she whispered.

She rocked gently from side to side, ignoring the way his tears soaked through her clothes. He pushed away from her and moved back before vomiting violently, still sobbing brokenly. He couldn't stop. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed when he continued throwing up. She held him up after nothing was left but water.

He clutched his torso and cried even harder, trembling violently and going paler by the second.

Sakura immediately removed her blanket and wrapped it around him. Then she pulled him back toward her and let him cry until the tears run out…or dehydration set in. She rubbed his back soothingly, and hummed a tune to help calm him. He really needed to go to the hospital, but she wouldn't embarrass him by dragging him while he cried. Another hour passed before he finally calmed down. She wiped the tears from his face and gazed into his swollen red eyes. He looked at her, and she smiled softly as he adverted his gaze.

Poor thing.

"C'mon Sasuke. You have a high fever, you're dehydrated, mentally unstable, and we need to warm you up."

He nodded before slowly standing up, his knees wobbling heavily as he did so. She clutched his hand reassuringly as they slowly made their way to the hospital.

"Sakura?"he whispered.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Thank you…for today, and the last time."

"You're welcome. C'mon. I know you're tired, and you feel like crap, and trust me, you look like it, so let's keep going, alright?"she said, and held his hand tighter.

Not surprisingly, Kakashi showed up.

Without a word, he fell into step with the two of them, and steadied Sasuke whenever he stumbled. Eventually, his legs gave out on him, but it was Naruto who caught him and hoisted him up piggy back style.

They all walked in silence. No words were needed. As long as they were there, that's what mattered. They finally reached the hospital, and Naruto held Sakura's hand as they rushed Sasuke into emergency. The lack of fluids and the high fever called for quick action.

"He'll be alright, right Sakra-chan?"asked Naruto.

She couldn't answer.

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Four A.M. found Sakura sitting by a chair in Itachi's room. She sat motionlessly, listening to the steady pitter-patter of the rain that had started shortly after bringing Sasuke in.

"You look weary."

To tired to be startled, she answered.

"I am."

Itachi nodded before looking her over more thoroughly. Her hair was tangled in the loose ponytail. She looked a bit pale, and there were deep bags under her eyes.

"What were you doing? Why are you up?"he asked, slowly trying to adjust himself before concentrating on her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He frowned in confusion.

"Tell you what?"

"That it was a mission."

His eyes widened and he paled considerably.

"I don't understand…how can you deal with it Itachi? The planned coup, the massacre…all by yourself? And why didn't you tell Sasuke…what kind of madness took place. How could they justify that as the right solution?"she asked, clearly outraged.

"Do you see the way you are acting. What would have happened had the citizens and fellow shinobi of Konoha been told. There would be mass chaos. It had to be done. Sasuke…I couldn't…Sasuke couldn't know because he would have turned his revenge upon the village. It was better that his hatred be directed upon me."

"He knows."

He paled even further.

"What?"

"Miyoshi accidentally let it slip, so she told us everything. Even about your…relationship."

She glared.

" Then, Tsunade decided that he had a right to know, so she assigned it as a mission for him to find the mission scroll and read its contents. He's probably being checked into the pysch ward for mental evaluation."

He was silent as death before nodding shakily.

"I see."he whispered, before sighing heavily.

She stood up and walked to the edge of the bed, before plasing a soft chaste kiss on his lips.

"You don't have to shoulder this alone anymore. Tell me everything."

He did. From the beginning to the present, and what he had planned for the future. After he was finished, he felt a deep burden lift from his chest. It was as if something had been crushing him, robbing him of oxygen, and now he could breathe again.

She climbed into bed with him, and kissed him deeply. He kissed her back, with more vigor.

They spent the night in eachother's arms, finally in a peaceful slumber they both more than deserved.


	26. End

**Well folks, here it is. The last chapter of I Fell in Love with a Murderer.**

It was about 4 AM by the time he finally made it home. After he had been officially reinstated into Anbu, his life had become much more hectic. Well, not as hectic as it had been when Sakura was pregnant.

Itachi moved silently through the house. He opened his children's room doors and didn't detect any signs of life.

'_They must be with Sakura then.'_

He walked further down the hall and opened the master bedroom door, silently making his way in.

He saw Sakura lying on her back, the twins each resting comfortably on her breasts. They were six months old now. How time flew.

He removed his armor quietly, and then took off the vest. The shirt came next, and then his pants. He flinched at the gash across his that he received while protecting their escort. He looked at the blood and shrugged. He would re-bandage it after a quick shower. He moved quickly and walked into the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the shower. He stepped in and lathered, ignoring the scalding temperature. He just wanted to get in bed with his wife and children.

Yes. He said wife.

The wedding had been spectacular.

But that was for another time. He shut off the water and stepped out, grabbing his black towel. He rubbed his hair vigorously, getting out any stray droplets, before drying the rest of his body. Reaching into the bottom cabinet, he pulled out some bandages, wrapping his wound carelessly. He just wanted to get in bed. He put on another pair of clean house clothes before stepping out, and stopping in his tracks.

3 pairs of viridian wide green eyes stared at him from the bed.

"Welcome back Itachi."said his angel.

He walked and sat down on the bed. Two small chubby sets of arms reached out toward him, and he moved closer and lifted both of his children into his arms. They both laid their heads on his shoulders and fisted their hands into his shirt. He could feel the slight tingle of their breath on his neck.

He felt the bed shift as Sakura rested her head on his lap.

"How was the mission?"

"Successful."

She snorted.

"Duh, Itachi. Details?"

"A scuffle here and there, quite the scare for the for the escort. No major injuries."

He felt Sakura move her head and he peered downwards, right into her mirthful gaze.

"No major injuries, but there were injuries, right?"

"Yes."

Her eyes were bright and insightful.

"Put them down Itachi, and remove your shirt."

Ah. So that's what this was about.

He pouted in all his Uchiha like glory and gently placed the twins down, ignoring their small grunts of protest. Then he took off his shirt, flinching again.

Sakura gently removed the sloppily done bandages and tsk'd at the slight bleeding.

"Really, Itachi?"

He chose not to speak.

She summoned her chakra, the light green hue on her hands grabbing the attention of her babies as she placed them on his wound. He hissed slightly as the skin mended itself. While she worked, the twins rolled onto their bellies. They both slowly crawled toward their father's lap. Mitsuni reached there first and she spread out leaving no space for her brother. Ryoma fisted his hand in her hair and tried to use her as leverage but didn't have enough strength, so instead, he moved to the leg, and rested his head there. Itachi rested his hand on his son's head.

Some days where harder than others. The curse mark on Ryoma was indeed a curse. He would have random bouts of pain that could last from minutes to hours. Sometimes he would have seizures, he'd lose appetite, and maybe more symptoms to come. It was difficult, because he was so young. But he was a strong child.

Sakura sighed as the green hue faded out, and she placed her hands in her lap. Then she stared at Itachi.

"Did you eat?"

He nodded his head no.

She scooped Ryoma in her arms and stood up.

"They babies won't go back to sleep for a bit, so lets have a late snack."she said, smiling.

"It's past 4 A.M. Sakura."he deadpanned.

"All the better."she replied before heading out toward the kitchen.

He stared down at his lap where Mitsuni was resting comfortably, gazing at him.

"It's best to just listen to your mother."he mumbled before picking her up and sliding out of the bed. He slowly padded to the kitchen, where he saw unwrapping pre made onigiri and placing them on a plate. Ryoma was sitting in his high chair, sucking on his fingers.

He set Mitsuni in her highchair beside her brother, before walking behind Sakura and wrapping his arms around her midsection. She sighed and leaned back into him, closing her eyes in contentment.

"They missed you, you know."

"Hn."

"And they tried to stay up with me. Obviously, that didn't work out for all of us."

"Hn. Has Ryoma made any other sounds?"

"Only when he cries."she said sullenly.

That was another thing. Ryoma wouldn't coo or gurgle. He only cried when he needed something. They were beginning to sense that he was mute in a way.

"He'll be fine Sakura."

"How do you know?"she asked.

"I just do."

She smiled. "Alright, but you should really eat these."

He nodded and separated himself from her, picking up the plate and taking a seat by the twins. Sakura joined him.

As he ate, albeit slowly, Mitsuni reached over a touched her brothers nose. He in turn reached over, and his finger ended up hitting her eye. She stared at him before her lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears. Sakura was just about to get up and pick her up when Ryoma quickly put his hand on her head and rubbed it soothingly until she stopped crying. Itachi and Sakura watched wide eyed as she smiled and they both started to bang on their highchairs together.

"Did you see that?"asked Sakura.

"Now you understand, Blossom. Not everything requires words."

She nodded before standing up and grabbing two bottles, and pouring warm milk into them. She handed one bottle to Itachi who just finished eating, and kept the other one.

"I'll take Ryoma this time."she said.

"Hn."

They each picked up a child and held them, tipping the bottles and letting them suck on the nipple. (Tehe _)

It was silent other than the sounds of the feeding.

Sakura looked at her husband, who seemed to be in another world. It was unlike him.

"Are you alright?"she asked.

"Yes. I was just thinking about Deidara."

Deidara had officially become a ninja of Konoha. It was that, or he would be shipped off back to Iwa and would face execution. By doing some form of service, he could stay. He took on extremely difficult missions, and half of his pay would be sent to Iwa. In addition, he would receive missions from Iwa to further compensate on the fact that they lost the right to kill him. They had really wanted him dead.

"You know he has the hots for Hinata right?"asked Sakura, a smile on her face.

"And it seems the dimwit you call a teammate has hit puberty, and likes her as well."

"She's been crushing on Naruto since our academy days, and she likes Deidara too, now. He's quite the charmer. I think she has a thing for blondes."she said, laughing.

"Hn. But her father couldn't be any more mortified."he added.

"Serves him right that his daughter likes the rowdy ones. This whole dilemma is really twisting the stick stuck up his butt."

He rolled his eyes.

She looked down at Ryoma and saw he was only halfway done, and didn't look like he wanted anymore. She frowned.

"Leave him be, Blossom. He's already falling asleep."

She nodded with a sigh. Her eyes wandered about the room and landed on a nice flower arrangement in between them on the middle of the table.

"Ino is 8 months in. Sai's a nervous wreck."

Ino had come so close to losing her baby. But that girl fought hard. The feisty blonde was never one to give up anyways. Sai had refused to lave the hospital, let alone eat or sleep until she had been declared stable and moved out of ICU. All the while, his face had been blank. Nobody could look at his face and tell what he felt, but his actions showed everything.

"Emotionally stunted individuals generally don't know how to deal with children."he stated.

"You did."she deadpanned.

He tried hard to ignore the fact that she had blatantly called him emotionally stunted.

"I used to help my mother take care of Sasuke."

She nodded.

Itachi remembered something.

"Where is Sephira?"

"She's staying with my sister for the week. You know she likes Yotachi, so of course she took the chance to go while you were gone."

"She may not be my birth child, but she's still my daughter. And much to young to even consider boys."

He had his infamous pout. How cute.

Two loud simultaneous burps sounded, frightening everyone in the room. Mitsuni and the now awake Ryoma were wide eyed.

Sakura laughed as Ryoma started to tear up.

"Shh, it's alright. Hush."

Itachi looked at Mitsuni, who was already nodding off.

"Kakashi is in a relationship with your sister, you know."

Sakura's eyes shot up.

"When? I knew he was interested, but geez, that was fast."she said.

"He mentioned it to me on the mission."

"Oh. I'll have to pay her a visit then."

It had been rocky between the two of them at first. In a way, Sakura felt like sloppy seconds. Her sister, who was almost identical to her, had been in a complicated sexual relationship with her babies' father. It had hurt to learn. Not only that, but it had torn her up even more to learn that her sister had left the village. But slowly, they got passed those boundaries and became the inseparable pair they had been before the drama.

"It really is too bad that Sephira and Yotachi are cousins. They make a cute couple."she mumbled.

Itachi glared at her.

She grinned before sticking her tongue out at him. Ryoma twitched in his sleep, grabbing her attention. She cuddled him tighter.

"Sasuke was on the mission with you right?"

"Hn."

"How was he?"she asked.

"Himself."

Sasuke had been, difficult to say the least. After the first initial breakdown, he went through a serious case of depression, lost weight, sometimes refused to leave his home, and many other things. He had even been forcefully removed from active duty based on health and sanity reasons. Not only that, but he avoided his brother like the plague. Itachi had tried time and time again to speak with him, but that only resulted in Sasuke throwing fits and having to be sedated. It was hard. But then Itachi snapped and had burst into his hospital room, sealing off all entrances and exits, leaving the two of them alone, and then proceeded to beat the hell out of Sasuke until he woke up. They spent a day in there, and when the room was finally unsealed, they found Itachi sitting on the hospital couch with Sasuke curled up beside him, asleep with his had in his lap. Since then, the two stuck by each other. After that whole fiasco, Sasuke sucked up his pride and spoke to Sakura, formally apologizing and they had a nice heart to heart. They got along fine now. Team 7 was back.

"It is late Sakura."

"Technically, it's early."

He resisted the urge to role his eyes and stood up, careful not to jostle Mitsuni and wake her up. He looked at her pajamas that had little fish on them. It reminded him of Kisame. He had went off on a, 'soul searching journey' as he'd called it. Kisame was never one to be tied down, and when Konoha had threatened him with the same ultimatum and Deidara, he'd fled that same night. But deep down, Itachi knew he'd be back. If for nothing else, then to check on the 'little squirts'.

"Itachi?"

"I apologize. I'm more tired than I had presumed."

"Let's go to bed then."she said.

They both headed toward the master bedroom.

"We can all sleep together this one night."she mumbled.

Itachi nodded and placed Mitsuni down before going to brush his teeth. When he returned, Sakura was already in the bed. Itachi got in on the other side, and the twins were in the middle. He reached over them and linked his hand with hers. They stared at each other over the babies.

"I love you Itachi."

"And I love you, Blossom."

She smiled and was about to close her eyes when he spoke.

"Tell me a story."

She caressed his hand lovingly, and sighed softly.

"Please."he added.

"Fine, I'm tired, but my love for you is making me do it."

Even though he didn't smile, his eyes brightened.

"Once upon a time, there lived a man. This man had dark eyes and dark hair, and rarely ever spoke. The people of his village feared him, because he was rumored to have killed 1000 men. But there was a girl, who looked past all of that. She thought him to be mysterious, and wanted to get to know him. So one day, she paid his house a visit, with a basket of bread in her arms. The door opened, and her green eyes met his black ones for the very first time. And in that instant, she fell in love with the murderer."

**END**

**Wow. I never thought I would finish this. Honestly, for a bit, I gave up. But then I realized that it would be absolutely disgusting of me not to finish this, because people were still looking forward to the end and all. That would be a butthole move.**

**Yes, I know it's been months. Sorry. Really… I am…**

**Sigh.**

**Well, I tried to explain a lot during this chapter, as I wanted this to remain a strict family scene only. Nobody else. Just them. So I added explanations along they way in their conversations. Smooth huh? ;)**

**If you want, I can write sort of sequel to this in the form of oneshots. The wedding would be included :D. Only if you want me too, though. And updates would be sporadic. **


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